Reality Bytes
by The Altered Destinies
Summary: A multi-level series exploring the potential of alternate universe futures where different combinations of the Ranma cast are explored through their progeny, who combine the best qualities of each system. This Series was Inspired by various Series and Authors
1. Chapter 1

Roll Call for Realities Byte:Jim R. Bader

KEEPING THE SCORECARD!

Continuum #30197682 ("Convergences," by Ross McKenzie, a Parallel Earth to that series)

Akira Hibiki-16, purpled haired son of Spring Saotome and Godai Hibiki, from the future.  
Jusenkyo Curse: Nyaniichuan Spring Saotome-16, purple haired daughter of Shampoo Saotome and Ranma.  
Jusenkyo Curse: Mao-Nyaniichuan (Cat-woman)

Continuum #59343921 ("A Very Scary Thought," by Jim R. Bader)

Lylac Tendo -17, purple haired daughter of Shampoo Tendo and Nabiki.  
Shamran Tendo-16, purple haired daughter of Shampoo Tendo and Ranma

Ryokoma Saotome -15, brown haired son of Ukyo Kuonji and Ranma Saotome.  
Fragrance Kuonji -16, brown haired daughter of Ukyo Kuonji and Perfume.

Continuum #29457180("Knights and Warriors," by Jim R. Bader)

Watazashi Saotome -16, black-haired daughter of Kodachi Saotome and Ranma.  
Yuan-Yen Tendo-16, brown-haired, daughter of Nabiki Tendo and Mousse.  
Takane Kuno -16, black haired son of Akane Kuno and Tatewaki.  
Razor Hibiki-16, purple haired son of Shampoo Hibiki and Ryoga.

Continuum #472193567("Purple Haired Destiny," by Ryan Anderson, a parallel to that series)

Rinse Saotome-17, purple haired daughter of Shampoo Saotome and Ranma.  
Yinra Saotome-16, black haired daughter of Akane Saotome and Ranma.  
Yangra Saotome-16, black haired son of Akane Saotome and Ranma.  
Tachi Kuno -17, brown haired daughter of Nabiki Kuno and Tatewaki.  
Ryoukio Hibiki-16, brown haired son of Ukyo Hibiki and Ryoga.  
Belldandy Tofu-16, brown haired daughter of Kasumi Tofu and Ono Tofu-  
Sensei.  
Ivory Kuno -16, black haired daughter of Kodachi Kuno and Mousse.  
Brand Tendo -16, brown haired son of Kurumi Tendo and Mousse.

Continuum #29715382("The Bitter End," by Zen, a parallel to that series)

Ranko Saotome-16, redheaded daughter of Akane Saotome and Ranma Jusenkyo Curse: Nanniichuan

Continuum #37944326("The Most Unlikely of Friends," by Wade Tritschler, a parallel to that series)

Storm Saotome-17, purple haired son of Shampoo Saotome and Ranma.  
Lightning Saotome -15, purple haired daughter of Shampoo Saotome and Ranma.  
Godai Hibiki-17, black haired son of Akane Hibiki and Ryoga.  
Ryonami Hibiki-16, black haired daughter of Akane Hibiki and Ryoga.  
Towel Kuonji-16, dark haired son of Ukyo Kuonji and Mousse.  
Incense Tendo-16, brown haired daughter of Nabiki Tendo and Perfume.

Continuum #59342718("A Scary Thought," by Wade Tritschler, a parallel to that series)

Okami Saotome-17, dark haired son of Kuonji Saotome and Ranma.  
Kimiko Tendo-17, purple haired daughter of Shampoo Tendo and Kasumi.  
Chameleon Kurenai -16, brown haired son of Nabiki Kurenai and Tsubasa.  
Kanazuchi Taro-16, black haired daughter of Akane Taro and Pantyhose.

Continuum #60429381("Switching Heirs," by Nicole Manders)

Kengo Yatai Kuonji-17, purple haired son of Shampoo Kuonji and Ukyo.  
Jusenkyo Curse: Mao-Nanniichuan (Cat-Man)  
Jonma Saotome-17, black haired daughter of Kuonji Saotome and Ranma.  
Jusenkyo Curse: Nanniichuan

Twilight Saotome -16, Indigo haired daughter of Shampoo Kuonji and Ranma.  
Jusenkyo Curse: Maoniichuan

Dai Yen Tendo -16, brown haired son of Nabiki Tendo and Perfume.  
Kimiko Hibiki -16, dark haired daughter of Akane Hibiki and Ryoga.  
Rui Hibiki -16, dark haired daughter of Akane Hibiki and Ryoga.  
Takoma Arigami -16, red haired daughter of Natsume Arigami and Keiko.  
Eidolon Kuno -17, dark haired daughter of Kodachi Kuno and Sakura.  
Minos Taro -17, dark haired son of Kasumi Taro and Pantyhose.  
Belldandy Taro-16, brown haired daughter of Kasumi Taro and Pantyhose.  
Dragon Tendo-16, dark haired son of Kurumi Tendo and Mousse.  
Jusenkyo Curse: Dragon Chi Kuno-17, dark haired daughter of Ayako Kuno and Tatewaki.  
Sachio Kuno-16, dark haired son of Ayako Kuno and Tatewaki.

Continuum #72489164("Neo-Genesis Evangelion," by GAINAX, a parallel to that series)

Breeze Steinberg -17, blue haired son of Lao Kane and Frank Nathaniel Steinberg.  
Shinji Kuonji-15, dark haired son of Ukyo Kuonji and Ranma.  
Rei Saotome-15, albino daughter of Shampoo Saotome and Ranma

Atsuko Tendo-15, redheaded daughter of Akane Tendo and Ryu Kumon.

X

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	2. Chapter 2

Realities Byte

(A Fractured Destiny)

by Jim Robert Bader

(Loosely Based on the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others)

[Inspired by the Convergences Series]  
by Ross McKennzie &amp; Others.

Prologue:

If there was one certainty in the life of the young woman named Priss Asagiri it was that all Boomers were the enemy, the foul creations of a perverted science gone mad, that produced monstrosities the likes of which even Doctor Frankenstein could never conceive. Boomers were Things that sometimes were made in the likeness of humanity yet were utterly inhuman. They were a constant threat to humanity, the scourge of decent men and women trying to earn a basic living and the means by which corrupt men of power and influence sought to dominate humankind. Boomers were not to be trusted, could never be allowed to walk the streets like ordinary people. The only good Boomer was a dead and dismantled Boomer, or so she had always believed without question.

"S-Sylvie?" she gasped, unable to believe the evidence of what she saw before her.

You were not supposed to like a Boomer, they were artificial things programmed to mimic real people. To befriend one was an absurdity, it meant you allowed yourself to be taken in by their ruse and entrusted yourself to The Enemy, and above all else you were NEVER supposed to fall in love with one.

Only now she discovered that a woman she had befriended and had begun to care for was, in fact, a 33-S model Sexaroid, a type of Boomer created to be a toy for the perverse pleasures of men, little more than a walking sex toy, a human doll designed to fulfill the needs of the male libido.

"Priss?" gasped Sylvie in reply from where she sat as a prisoner, held captive by devices that had been attached to her neck and wrists by the DD Battlemover that-until now-had been under her personal direction.

"Priss, is that you?" Sylvie asked again, very real distress plain in her features.

Priss backed away in horrified realization. It was Sylvie, her friend, sitting there where they had been told to expect a murderous creature known to the press only as the Vampire killer, a Boomer that drank human blood in order to sustain its artificial system.

"Sylvie?" Priss wanted to deny the realization that her friend was the murderer who had taken the lives of a dozen or more humans. In horrified dismay she gasped, "It can't be you!"

"Priss," Sylvie's large brown eyes sought her out, in spite of the fact that Priss was wearing a helmet, "I'm linked with the DD's systems and it's out of control! You must kill me in order to stop it! If you don't, then everyone in this city will die!"

Priss automatically began to raise her gauntlet containing the rail gun but faltered, "I-I can't!"

"Priss," Sylvie said pleadingly, "You must kill me!"

"What are you waiting for?" Sylia Stingray asked Priss frantically, "That bomb will go off in another three minutes! Priss...!"

"I can't!" Priss cried in despair, even as she saw the DD start to make its lumbering advance upon her, its combat system having already deduced that she was the most obvious threat of any of the armored women present. It drew back a huge mechanized fist and was about to smash it into this annoying blue armored insect when something very strange happened to change the chemistry of this impending tragedy.

A blue flash from close nearby distracted the Battlemover, startling the Knight Sabers no less before a lone human figure appeared in its aftermath. A tall boy with oddly purple hair stood looking around in evident confusion, then took in the Battlemover and gasped a very human sounding "Nani?"

Silence reigned for the next several instants before Nene called out, "Whoever he is, I'm picking him up as human. I don't know much about those strange energy readings..."

"Whoever you are, get away from here right this instant!" Sylia commanded, "You're in serious danger!"

"No fooling," the youth replied, looking and sounding a bit like Sylia's younger brother, Mackie. Then he took notice of Sylvie and said, "Are you all right in there, lady?"

"No!" Sylvie replied, "Get back...it's dangerous and I can't control it!"

The boy looked at the Battlemover, which was turning to orient towards him, "You mean this thing? Do you need any help?"

Priss finally broke out of her stunned paralysis and cried, "What are you waiting for? Clear out!"

She brought her rail gun into play and fired several shots at the arm that was now swinging at the boy, only to see them bounce harmlessly off as she cursed silently the ineffectiveness of her primary weapon. Then she reacted in shock as she saw that the boy was no longer standing in front of the mover but was perched upon the selfsame arm that had tried to smash him.

"That wasn't very nice," he said, then he assumed a dramatic pose, stabbing forward with one hand as he cried, "BAKUSEI TENKETSU!"

What happened next was flat out impossible, utterly inconceivable and incredible just to mention, but it appeared to Priss's eyes as though the Battlemover exploded, flying apart into so much useless junk as if it were a child's toy being smashed by a giant hammer. The cables binding Sylvie in place were severed, releasing her as she tumbled wildly out of the wreckage and straight at Priss, who moved to catch her from sheer reflex and force of habit.

When the dust finally settled the boy emerged from the wreckage dusting himself off as he idly commented, "I really hate these war machines. Bad enough they attacked my village but threatening helpless young women is just going too far in my book..."

"H-How...?" Linna gasped.

"Sylia?" Nene spoke up, "Did he just do what I think he did?"

"Never mind that," Sylia said urgently, "Scan the bomb! Is it still active?"

"No," Nene said after a momentary pause, "Whatever he did to the DD must've also destroyed the timing mechanism, but how...?"

"A good question," Sylia approached the purple haired youth and said, "Who are you and how did you do that?"

"What, the Breaking Point Technique?" he smiled, "Just an Amazon secret I learned from my mother. My name's Hibiki Akira, and you people are?"

"We're the Knight Sabers," Sylia replied, pausing slightly as she saw the youth look back without comprehension, "You've never heard of us?"

"No," he smiled, "But I've spent most of my life in China, so I guess it's not too surprising. We don't always keep up with outside affairs in Joketsuzoku, and I've spent most of my life in training...oh, damn!"

The last part was said as it had begun to rain all of a sudden, and the boy just looked at the sky in faint resignation.

"If you're from China you sure speak pretty good Japanese," Nene was commenting as she and Linna drew closer, "I can't believe a human being could do something like that to a Battlemover."

"I've had practice," Akira replied, only his voice sounded higher pitched than before as he added, "And my Grandfather's from Japan, so blame it on him if I'm bilingual."

"Say what?" Linna blinked, wondering if it were her imagination or if the youth really was shrinking several inches and now looked like a young girl in the dim light of the gully where they were standing at the moment, "Weren't you a boy a minute ago?"

"It's a long story," Akira sighed, "Actually more like a family tradition. Look, this is Japan I'm in, right? And what's the Date?"

"April 7, 2033," Sylia replied, seeing the youth wince slightly, "Is there some problem?"

"Great," Akira sniffed, "Right location, wrong time. I'll have to try again," she held up a strange object shaped like a pendant in one hand and added, "Great, Great, Great Grandmother warned me that Timetravel would be tricky, looks like I need more practice."

"Timetravel?" Sylia began to say when the youth was suddenly surrounded in a blue-white glow, then vanished just as suddenly as her appearance.

"Where did she go?" Nene looked around, "I can't pick her anywhere up on my sensors!"

"I believe the question is more that of 'When' than where," Sylia replied to her two friends when she heard a sob coming from Priss's direction and turned to see that Priss had removed her helmet and was cradling the Sexaroid in her arms with a very distraught expression.

"Sylvie," Priss said in tones that no one who had known her for very long would have recognized as coming from her, "I can't believe it was you..."

"I'm sorry," Sylvie replied, "I never meant to hurt you, Priss. I deceived you because I needed to hide out...I'm so sorry that any of this happened..."

"Why?" Priss asked her, "Why did you do it?"

Sylvie's eyes shown with emotion as she replied, "I wanted to be free like you, Priss. I wanted to be free."

"Free?" Priss shook her head, "I don't understand..."

"On Genaros," Sylvie began, "We were prisoners, used by our masters like toys for their pleasure. Some friends of mine and I tried to escape...but the others didn't make it. Only me and another young girl," Sylvie reached up and unzipped her jacket, then pulled out a data-disk and said, "Give this to her. Her name is Anri, and she needs the information on this disk to repair herself so that she doesn't wind up like me...forced to hurt people," Sylvie began to cry, "I never meant for that to happen. I only took the blood to keep Anri alive until I could repair her. I'm very sorry about everything...I'll understand if you hate me for it..."

"Hate you?" Priss blinked her eyes in confusion as she held the proffered disk in one gloved hand.

Sylvie turned to look up at Sylia and said, "I'm the one who murdered all those people. Blame me for those crimes, but don't blame Anri. You can do whatever you want with me, but please spare her. It's not her fault that she got injured on Genaros."

"You don't look as if you're doing too well yourself at the moment," Sylia replied neutrally, "You're bleeding in the side..."

Priss looked down at where Sylvie's jacket was soaked with blood, then dabbed her gauntlet fingers in it and stared at the blood, which looked entirely human.

"I took a hit," Sylvie sighed, "My systems have sustained partial damage..." she made a weak attempt at a smile, "I'll probably bleed to death in another few minutes. I guess it's fitting that way...no less than I deserve..."

"Fitting?" Priss gasped, and then her face firmed in resolve as she looked up at Sylia and said, "Can we repair her?"

The question seemed to take everybody by surprise, Sylia not the least of them as she said, "Priss...she is a 33-S..."

"I DON'T CARE!" Priss snarled, "Can she be repaired or not?"

"Priss?" both Nene and Linna gasped in chorus.

"I'm not letting her die!" Priss looked down at the much-astonished Boomer in her arms, "I'm not letting you die! I don't care what you are or what you've done, if there's a way of saving you, then we're damned well going to do it!"

"Sylia?" Nene asked as she glanced towards their silent leader, who was looking down at Priss in a way that was impossible to translate.

Sylia was gauging the matter in silent reflection over Priss's uncharacteristic outburst. There was no question whatsoever that the fiery tempered Rock-Star turned mercenary was responding to Sylvie as though the Boomer were an actual person. Given the events that had transpired it was probably natural to consider the sad-looking girl in the same light as they would towards any human girl in her situation, and Sylvie was evidencing genuine human remorse over her actions, which were no more than that of someone who had never known human kindness and was a refugee in a world that hated her kind and would not hesitate to destroy her merely for existing...

And who had been all too willing to give up her life in order to protect a city full of those selfsame people. Who had committed murder to sustain the life of a friend, and who seemed willing to face the consequences now if she could somehow spare her friend from further anguish.

Hardly the actions of a mere machine bereft of human conscience.

Why she did what she did next even Sylia would have been hard pressed to explain, but she saw that there was little time for further reflection, so she made a decision based on nothing more than gut-level instinct. After all, Sylvie was not the only one still capable of a human impulse.

"We take her with us," Sylia replied, speaking into her com-mike, "Mackie, come pick us up at this location. We need emergency medical facilities and a complete bio-optic relay enhancer. I'll explain everything once our way back to headquarters."

"Sylia," Priss's eyes were full of tears as she silently spoke her gratitude.

"We won't let her die, Priss," Sylia nodded, and then to the astonished look the Sexaroid gave to them both she added, "We'll find your friend and repair her with the information on that data-disk, you have my word on that just as long as you promise me that you won't cause us any more trouble."

"I do," Sylvie whispered, "But...why are you doing this for me? I know you think I'm a monster..."

"I try not to make too many judgements of that nature," Sylia assured, "And it's the human thing to do. Besides...you may be able to help us out if you will tell us more of your story about what has been happening on Genaros."

"I'll tell you anything you want," Sylvie replied as she lay back in Priss's arms and sighed, "I owe it to the others."

Sylia smiled from beneath her helmet, but privately she wondered at the strange turn of events that had just happened. Everything had been in motion for a great tragedy only a few moments ago when the choice had been between blowing up the entire city and terminating the life of this Sexaroid who seemed so incredibly human. She could tell at a glance how it would have affected Priss had she been forced to kill her friend under these circumstances and Sylia was silently grateful at having avoided such a fate. She needed Priss to remain the strong and cocky avenger that she normally was in their long struggle against the evils of Genom. To shatter her resolve in such a way could potentially have destroyed the Knight Sabers, and who knew what that would mean to the future?

It was the means by which this tragedy had been avoided that continued to baffle her. Who was that boy...girl who called herself Hibiki Akira? A traveler through time, obviously, yet who had the power to destroy a Battlemover with a single thrust of her hand, who acted as though she had done this before in the past. She had called herself an Amazon from China, which was a clue that could be used to research her origins, especially if she came from some point in the future.

Sylia never liked to leave a mystery unsolved, but at the moment she had a life to save, artificial or no, and that was enough to be concerned with for the present...

Tangled Web Productions

Presents:

REALITIES BITE!

The First Chapter:

THE GATHERING!

Shampoo Saotome had never faced a tougher or more determined opponent.

As always she fought with skill and tenacity, but the other woman was like greased lightning, never where you expected her to be, and always two steps ahead of any attack with a counter-offensive already in motion. Though Shampoo was older, more experienced and in the prime of her fighting potential it was all that she could do to stave off the inevitable when her foe moved in for the kill. A moment's carelessness was all it took to provide the opening and then she was knocked sprawling into the ground, well outside the boundary line for their practice arena in which she had nominally been training the purple-haired dynamo, who had vanquished her with such dispatch.

"Are you all right, Mother?" Spring Saotome asked in open concern from where she stood in the center of the ten-meter wide practice circle.

"Y-yes," Shampoo assured her anxious daughter as she slowly forced herself into a sitting position, grateful that no one else could see her nursing her side as she tried to smile in a reassuring manner, "That is...enough practice for now. You have gotten very good, little Kitten. Your father's training missions are beginning to show results that even Great Grandmother would approve of."

"Thank you, Mother," Spring bowed in the Japanese manner before catching herself and remembering to use the more proper Chinese salute of the Nyanichiczu. Shampoo smiled at the small gaff, it was very like something she would have expected of Spring's father.

Shampoo combed her long hair out of her eyes and gave her pig-tailed counterpart an appraising stare before allowing a smile to betray the motherly pride that she was feeling. She composed herself with the dignity of her station and slowly stood erect, ignoring the bruised ribs and sore hips that made her feel twice her actual age. Instead she gave her eldest daughter a passable imitation of Cologne's own manner whenever Shampoo had done something she thought praiseworthy.

"You fight with courage and ferocity, little one, worthy traits in an Amazon, and you do not hold back against a determined foe. Still I noticed that you allowed your guard to drop at the end there when you believed I might be injured. Commendable sentiments, but such carelessness could be fatal if your enemy is not completely vanquished."

"I'm sorry, Mother," Spring replied in Japanese, then corrected herself again and said, "I will try and remember next time."

Shampoo decided that the Matronly act had gone far enough and instead opened her arms wide to permit herself to act the role of mother, to which Spring instantly responded. The younger girl bound into Shampoo's arms with an enthusiastic hug that almost threatened to crack already tender ribs until Shampoo managed to convince her to ease up a little. Then Shampoo stood back and study Spring at full arms length, trying to digest the astonishing fact that her little girl was already as tall as she herself, with evidence of still more growth forthcoming.

"You have grown!" Shampoo reverted to Japanese as she gave Spring a wondering appraisal. Spring smiled back shyly and lowered her violet-colored eyes, blushing with a bit of modesty that a normal Amazon might have mistaken for weakness.

"Father said the same thing," Spring replied, glancing to one side, "In fact..."

Shampoo followed her daughter's stare and saw her husband step into the clearing, the smile on his face open confirmation that he had been eavesdropping on the pair and was about to treat both of them with his smug self-gratification on the success of his favorite pupil.

"Didn't I tell you not to worry?" Ranma said, "She's a chip off the old block, and twice as cute as both of her parents put together."

"Father," Spring's blush flared all the more crimson.

"I mean it, kid," Ranma replied, "You're as good as I ever was when I was your age. Looks like the Saotome school has an heir who can hold their own with the best in all of China."

For some reason Spring lost her smile and instead heaved a weary sigh, "Good enough for China, but maybe too good. I don't think there's anyone left in the tribe who can hold their own with me, especially the boys. How will I ever find a husband if none of them are good enough to defeat me?"

"Hey, fighting's not the only way to win yourself a husband," Ranma said, "And what's the rush? You've just turned sixteen. It wasn't until I was eighteen that I formally married your mother."

"But you won her by the laws of Joketsuzoku when you were my age!" Spring protested, "I'm old enough to marry already, and I don't even have a boyfriend! None of the guys from around here are interesting enough to go on dates with, and they sure can't spar with me without getting hurt. Being the best is such a drag, I want to meet a man who can give me a real challenge."

"Your father is right, little one," Shampoo said in mild reprimand, "I had to learn the same lesson as you that not everything in the world revolves around combat. There are other qualities in a man that go into the making of a worthy husband."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ranma smiled playfully at his wife.

"Nothing that an ignorant barbarian such as you need be concerned with," Shampoo replied mockingly, her recent pains forgotten as she flashed her husband a look of lascivious challenge.

"Barbarian am I?" Ranma said as he all but pounced on his wife, and the two of them went at it like a couple of kids free-sparring, "I'll make you sorry you said that, Kitty."

"Talk is cheap!" Shampoo taunted him in his own language, and Spring just rolled her eyes as she stepped back to watch the fun, feeling both elated and depressed at the way her parents liked to banter freely while setting up the mood for a different kind of horseplay.

If only she could have someone to play with like that...

Yeah, right, she silently sniffed. Like it just happens every day that the best fighter in the world drops into your village and challenges you to Marital Combat...

Of a sudden her senses flared, warning of an impending burst of Chi-force, but rather than come in the form of a localized attack it centered in one area of the clearing, and suddenly there came a blinding flash of light that even startled her parents out of their private tumble.

A moment later a boy stood there where the flash had occurred, looking around himself with a curious bewilderment before turning to look at Spring with an astonished gasp that sounded like, "Mother?"

"Mother?" Spring blinked her eyes...twice. The boy was about her own age and had hair the same color, only cut short without her Warrior's braid, and he was wearing strange clothing. He also held up an object in one hand around which a faint blue glow persisted, though his eyes were briefly focused upon her before taking notice of her parents close nearby.

"Oh my," the boy said in fluent Japanese, "Must have got the coordinates wrong again. Sorry about this, didn't mean to startle you Grandfather, Grandmother."

"Nani?" Ranma blinked, still bent over a prone Shampoo, who was staring up at the strange boy with an equally astonished expression.

"Don't mind me," he smiled as he held up the peculiar pendant once again and said, "I'll just try again and hope I get the spatial coordinates right. Pretend you never saw me. Bye!"

"Wait!" Spring leaped forward, trying to make the boy stay where he was as she sensed that he was about to leave them. Her mind was working at lightning speeds to try to process the implications of what she thought she had heard him say and it never occurred to her to question her own actions. The impulse sprang from a part of her mind that she had not previously been aware of, so she was no less astonished when the blue glow engulfed the both of them and a moment later she and the boy had utterly vanished.

"Oboy," Ranma said as he slowly helped his wife to regain her footing, "Did you see that, honey?"

"I saw it," Shampoo replied, "I don't know if I believe it, but with our history..."

"Right," Ranma nodded, then the two of them exchanged astonished looks and almost simultaneously said the words "Grandfather/Grandmother" in matching tones of dawning comprehension.

It took less than a heartbeat for Ranma to say, "We'd better go find Cologne. If anybody can make sense of this..."

"Yes," Shampoo instantly agreed, "Great-Grandmother will know the answers...or at least know them better than we do."

"Our Grandson," Ranma tonelessly whispered, "You think maybe...?"

"We will see," Shampoo assured him, wishing she felt as confident as she sounded at the thought of what might be happening to their oldest and much-beloved daughter...

Some say that there are an infinity of worlds, an endless number of potential realities where alternate probabilities hold sway, and that for each possibility there are a series of choices that must be made to get there. Some choices are more unlikely than others, and those realities are remote, yet if one could cross the line between dimensions they might find such a world where history happened differently and the results of potential unions reside in perfect bliss, secure in the belief that their worlds history is the only one right and proper.

Such a world existed where a boy named Ranma Saotome had different suitors seeking to claim his hand in matrimony. In most worlds he married the likeliest choice for a wife: his first iinazuke, Akane Tendo. However there were others whose claims were equally as valid, and in those worlds a boy named Ranma married his best friend, Ukyo Kuonji, and in other worlds chose to take as his bride a fierce Amazon warrior by the name of Shampoo. Each worlds history reflects the circumstances that caused the odds to favor one fianc e over the others, and in every case there were consequences to these choices that reverberated throughout all space and time as in choosing one bride Ranma Saotome invariably had to disappoint the others.

Except on those worlds where he opted to take a less conventional option and claim more than one wife, and on such a world there were several young offspring produced by such an unusual pairing.

One girl in particular looked a little like the girl named Spring Saotome, only a few months chronologically older and presently engaged in an enterprise that was all-too-familiar...

Rin-Tse Saotome stared at the pile of bricks laid out in front of her and focused her Chi until she saw the force-lines converge, then very slowly she brought down her index finger and touched the top one, exploding it into fragments.

Rinse smiled as she saw that only the top brick was destroyed this time. Her control was improving steadily day-by-day and already she knew that she was (probably) every bit as good as her parents had been when they were her age, possibly even better. She brought her finger down again and this time collapsed the whole pile with a single stroke, and she was about to congratulate herself for this achievement as well when a voice intruded upon her consciousness.

"You know, that sort of thing is why the boys at our school think you're so weird."

Rinse scowled as she looked up to see her friend and cousin, Tachi Kuno, leaning against the doorframe to the room she used for practice. She sniffed as if indifferent to the implication before she framed the words, "So what? Not everything revolves around Boys, Tachi. Besides, it's not like I want to have anything to do with the weaklings in our class."

"Maybe so," Tachi stood up and approached the purple-haired Amazon with that easy-going smile of hers, then feinted a kick before launching herself into the air and drawing her bokken in mid-leap. Rinse was already airborne and ready to meet the attack with her hands. A brief exchange ensued before the two of them parted, landing on opposite sides of the chamber.

Tachi flashed a smile as she looked over her shoulder, "Not bad, you're getting better."

"Hah!" Rinse scoffed, "I could take you in my sleep. You're the one who needs to work more on their defenses."

"Maybe," Tachi slung her sword over her back and made it disappear as though into an invisible sheath, "On the other hand you could stand some improvement yourself, if you'd care to look at your shirt."

"Huh?" Rinse looked down then scowled, seeing Tachi's name in kanji had been written on her plain practice gi in very neat pen strokes.

"Not bad for a mere Sword-wielder, eh?" Tachi gave that annoyingly smug smile of hers that as much as said that she was on top of the world and was merely slumming with the peasants.

Rinse smiled her own predatory smile and said, "Try looking at your own back."

"Eh?" Tachi risked a glance over her shoulder, then carefully reached back and felt the edge of an adhesive patch back there. She carefully pried it loose, only to discover that it was a page-sized label that had a cartoon kitty face sticking out its tongue at her and pulling down one eye for good measure.

"Damn," she swore, giving Rinse a speculative look, "I never even felt that."

"So we're even...this time," Rinse informed her cousin with a look that as much as promised worse next time they sparred in earnest.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it before," Tachi waved a hand dismissively, "Say, are you done with work today? I thought we could go catch a Tri-D movie at the Cineplex with the boys..."

"Why bother?" Rinse asked, "I'll just wait for the download and watch it at home, if it's any good that is."

Tachi gave that knowing smirk of hers again and said, "Even if Ryoukio is there to see it with us?"

Rinse gave just the barest hint of a hesitation before she said, "What if he is? What makes you think I care?"

"Oh please," Tachi rolled her eyes, "One of the three cutest boys in our High School, and he's not related to us either. Don't tell me you haven't been noticing him in class. This is me, remember?"

"Hmph," Rinse looked away as though disgusted, "I'd sooner date your brother, or mine if he were a bit older. And what about you? Don't tell me you're not just looking for an excuse to get close to that half-blind idiot, Brand..."

"He is not an idiot!" Tachi suddenly flared before remembering herself with a lame chuckle as she added, "Most of the time. At least he's cute."

"He's also the son of our adopted Aunt Natsume," Rinse pointed out, "That almost makes it like incest."

"Almost only counts with tactical weapons," Tachi chuckled, "Or Ki attacks. Brand's no more my cousin than you, if you go strictly by bloodline. We may share a common Aunt and two full-blooded cousins but that's as far as it goes. Besides...I kind of think Brand has enough favorable qualities to make up for a slight case of astigma, and that's correctable these days."

"I still say he's a Tendo," Rinse said stubbornly, adopting a pose that unconsciously made her look a lot more like her father than mother.

"Oh yeah?" Tachi had that cunning look about her again as she smiled and said, "Well, at least my boyfriend can find his way to the theater with out help."

"He is not my boy-!" Rinse caught herself, then flashed an angry glare before continuing, "He's just a guy I sometimes like to hang around with, and he's an okay martial artist, not that I couldn't beat him if I really tried."

"And you call Brand half-blind," Tachi teased until both girls turned around, hearing the near-silent approach of Rinse's half-sister, Yinra.

"Hey, Oneechan," she smiled, "Tachi-chan. Guess what? Our folks want us to stop by the dojo around four today, something about an announcement."

"An announcement?" Tachi frowned, "Is somebody getting married or something?"

"Not unless Belldandy's been keeping a secret from the rest of us," Yinra smiled before noticing the pen marks on Rinse's gi, "What's with the monogram? You two been fighting again or something?"

"Nevermind imoutosan," Rinse growled, "I was going to change anyway, just as soon as I go see Great-Great Grandmother."

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Yinra slapped herself, "She's going to be there with us for the meeting. It's some kind of family gathering with all the boys and girls gathered in one place. You ask me it sounds like we're having a party."

"That's odd," Tachi frowned, "There's no holiday coming up that I know of, and the last time the families gathered us up in one place..."

"Yeah, we know," Rinse scowled, remembering the fireworks that had literally gone off in the middle of that meeting, "Sounds ominous. Maybe somebody is getting married if they want the whole clan to hear about it."

"Well, Mom wouldn't say," Yinra shrugged, "But you know how she is. Pop was even worse, and you know what kind of a Poker face he's got."

"Poker face?" Tachi raised an eyebrow at the expression, "Your father couldn't keep a secret to himself if my mother paid him to do it. If he's not talking then it's got to be serious. I sure hope they don't try to arrange any marriages like in the old days..."

"I'm not marrying anybody unless he's good enough to beat me," Rinse said flatly, "And nobody's that good in Nerima."

"Give Ryoukio-kun a little time to improve before you make that statement," Tachi grinned.

"I'm warning you, Cousin," Rinse glowered, "Drop it, or I'll spank you with that toothpick of yours."

"Ooohhh...is that I threat I hear?" Tachi gave her a calculated look before she added, "What kind of odds would you like me to lay out that you don't lose to him before the end of the Semester?"

"Me lose?" Rinse bristled, "No way! Especially not to him!"

"Then why don't we lay out the stakes to make things interesting?" Tachi asked, unconsciously adopting a calculated look very reminiscent of her mother, "Say...a month of chores at the Nekohanten?"

"Two months," Rinse agreed, "I just hope you don't plan on doing anything else during the summer vacation."

"Oboy," Yinra rolled her eyes, "You two and your gambling. Didn't you learn from the last time, Sis, not to bet with Tachi?"

"Hey, there's no way I can lose here," Rinse insisted, "Especially not to Ryoukio, even if he is almost competent."

"You better get dressed then," Tachi said by way of reminder, "It's almost three twenty, barely time for a good soak in the tub. When you're out I'll race you to the dojo."

"I'll win of course," Rinse boasted as she headed for the bathroom, snatching up the clean Chinese-style clothing that hung from a rack near the exit, "You couldn't catch a rail car if it was parked at the station."

Yinra waited until her older sister had departed before turning to their cousin and sighing, "She never seems to learn, does she?"

"Must run in the family," Tachi snorted as she studied her nails, already planning out how to spend all the free time she would have that summer...

And Elsewhere in Space and Time on yet another Parallel dimension:

Three teenagers were walking home from school in single file along the edge of a fence. The oldest, a young girl with long-flowing lavender hair, was suspiciously eyeing some passing rainclouds while her two companions were pleasantly chatting about some incident involving one of their teachers.

"Miss Hinako said that?" asked a young dark-haired boy of the younger of his purple-haired sisters.

"Sure did," replied Shamran, "While you were out playing tag with Incense..."

"I wasn't playing tag with her!" Ryokoma protested, "That crazy Amazon was chasing me all over the schoolyard! I was in hiding, got that?"

"Sure, sure," Shamran scoffed, "Like everybody in school doesn't know about you and your new girlfriend. But anyway, as I was saying, Hinako-Sensei called us a bunch of delinquents and said we're going to turn out to be even worse than our parents, if she can believe it..."

"Why does everybody always say stuff like that about our parents?" Ryokoma sniffed, "What'd they ever do that was so bad anyway? According to Grampa our folks were heroes in their day, and I want to be just like them."

"According to Hinako-Sensei you already are," Shamran teased, "Picking fights between classes, always running late and coming up with the lamest excuses..."

"I do not pick fights!" Ryokoma insisted, "I don't have to, they always seem to come for me, like when cousin Tomoko comes after me with that bokken of his accusing me of trying to steal his girlfriend...not that I've got any idea where he comes off thinking Bell-chan is his girlfriend anyway..."

"Yeah, right," Shamran snorted, "You know, Bro, for a guy who claims he's not interested in girls you sure have a lot of them out trying to date you..."

"If you two are quite finished," Lylac (sometimes pronounced "Raira" in Japanese) spoke up at last, "We're almost at the gates to our house. You don't want our parents to catch you two fighting again, do you?"

"We weren't fighting," Shamran protested, "He's just being a baka by denying that he has a thing about cousin Bell and Incense."

"Oh right, blame it on me, why don't you?" Ryokoma sulked, "It's not like I asked for this or nothing, stuff just seems to happen..."

"We are not accusing you of anything, Ryo-chan," Lylac arched her tone without glancing back over her shoulder, "Were we, Imotochan?"

"I don't see what's wrong with needling him over having three girlfriends," it was Shamran's turn to sulk, "He's no worse than Dad in that respect..."

"For the last time!" Ryokoma protested, "They are not my girlfriends! Well...maybe Bell-chan, but not Incense and definitely not Watazashi!"

Of a sudden Lylac halted in mid-step and stared directly ahead of her. Shamran and Ryokoma-unprepared for the unscheduled stop, almost ran into their older sibling in their surprise but managed to avert a collision due to their each possessing highly developed reflexes.

"Hey!" Ryokoma complained at the rear end of their train, "What's the big idea..."

"Quiet, little brother," Lylac replied, "Someone's blocking traffic."

"Blocking traffic?" Shamran asked, trying to peer around her older sister, "But who'd be doing that on this fence?"

"Good question," Lylac started forward, "I think I'll ask them."

Spring managed to avert a savage oath that might have provoked her mother to wash her mouth out with cream rinse. She glanced down at the fence upon which she and the youth before her were precariously balanced, wondering what in the world was going in, and why did her present surroundings seem like no part of China that she had recently been to.

"Mother?" the short-haired girl seemed no less surprised to find her standing with her, "Oh no...you weren't supposed to follow me this way! You have to go back now before the gate closes..."

"Excuse me," a pleasant voice asked politely, "But do you mind if I ask where you just came from?"

Spring thought herself surprised by the first revelation, now she knew that shock was only the beginning of what she was about to experience as two young girls-both with Purple hair-came walking towards them on the fence with a careless ease that spoke of long practice.

The shorthaired girl who claimed to be her son turned to these new arrivals and said, "Opps! Sorry, guess I'm still not in the right continuum. This jumping from one Universe to the next is tricky stuff, and I haven't got the technique perfected just yet..."

"Technique?" said the dark-brown haired boy in the back, "Like in Martial arts? And what's with the haircolor? You guys Amazons or something?"

"Actually, Mom here is an Amazon by birth," the short-haired girl indicated, "I grew up there, but I'm kind of a wandering apprentice myself still learning the arts like my Grandfather before me. I didn't mean to jump into anyone's past by mistake, let alone my own..."

"Let me see if I can figure this out," Lylac impatiently interrupted, "You're saying that you're both Timetravelers...and that this girl is really your mother?"

"Well yes...sort of," the boy hesitated, "I mean she will be...in a couple of years, I think. Actually this is all pretty new to me..."

"Nihao!" a voice called out from just below them, and they all turned to see a girl with long brown hair sitting astride a bicycle looking at them with a curious expression, "Who are those two, sisters? They look a little like Auntie."

"Oh great," Ryokoma growled, "Whenever anything goes wrong she always has to show up."

"Quiet, baka," Shamran hissed, "Be nice to your big sister."

"Hi, Fragrance," Lylac called down, "We were just about to get to the bottom of things, and if you wait patiently for a moment we might even get some answers."

"That's right," the shorthaired girl held up her hand again and said, "This is really all my fault. It started when my grandmother handed me this locket and told me to concentrate real hard and..."

Spring was still recovering from her surprise at meeting so many strange faces at once and did not have time to react when she saw the blue glow begin to surround them once more. She tried to call out a warning when the glow reached out and once more caused an inversion of reality. The others had even less time to react before finding themselves all teleported...elsewhere.

"Oneechan?" Fragrance blinked her eyes as the glow began to fade, then with an astonished cry of, "Wait for me!" she vaulted up into the air, just managing to slip through the shuttering gap before it winked out of existence altogether. An instant later only her bicycle remained to show the passing of six teenagers on a journey like that which few could imagine...

And then there are Universes where the combinations simply defy rational description:

"Hey, 'Zashi!" Yuan-yin cried out as she bounced up and down on the diving board preparing to make a leap, confidence bounding like the mounds barely concealed by her bikini as she executed a near flawless one-and-a-half gainer.

"Not bad," Watazashi Saotome smiled, enjoying the view from where she reclined on the floating divan chair as her girlfriend broke the surface, "I'd give your performance a 9.6 at least."

"That's all?" Yuan sounded disappointed, leaning her head against the side of the divan with a look of pure mischief, "I thought I'd at least rate a bit higher than that with you, 'Zashi-chan."

Watazashi eyed her friend with a lazy predatory gaze that would have done justice to a crocodile before saying, "In everything else but gymnastics, maybe, but you happen to be stepping into my area of expertise, and as heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics I happen to consider my opinion to be flawless. You'll just have to make up for your performance in other ways that I'll have to think about..."

"Oh you," Yuan smiled as she dumped Watazashi unceremoniously over, then laughed as her friend sputtered indignantly over getting her hair wet.

"That's Yuan for you," remarked Takane Kuno at the other end of the pool as he shook his head with a sigh, "Always living dangerous while hanging around with cousin 'Zashi."

"Like there's a difference?" asked Razor Hibiki, sharing his friend's reluctance to intrude on the affairs of the two women, "Sometimes I just don't understand the attraction."

"Makes two of us," Takane sighed, "I wish Okonoma were here instead of those two perverts. Seems such a waste of a good day not to have company that can appreciate having a couple of handsome young studs like us around..."

"I heard that, Cousin!" Watazashi called out, "And who are you two Ecchi to be calling us perverts!"

"Yeah," Yuan smiled, "Like there are any real men around that could pique our interest. 'Zashi here's got bigger balls than the two of you put together."

"Exactly," Watazashi smiled, then blinked twice before saying, "Wait a minute..."

It was about that point when her legendary ire was coming to the surface that the sky above their heads spat blue-white fire, and then a moment later it began raining people in the center of the Kuno Estate swimming pool.

Yuan-yin immediately dove for cover, but Watazashi hesitated a moment too long and wound up having a very pert backside fall neatly on her face as Spring whooped loudly before being plunged into the element that was the enemy of her family. It took another full minute for order to be restored, by which point the two boys wading at the shallow end of the pool were treated to a sight that almost made them find religion.

"Whoah!" Razor exclaimed, "Check out the babes!"

"You said it," Takane murmured, "And they're your hair color. That's either a sign from the heavens or I'll eat my bokken."

"Great," sputtered one of those purple-haired girls, "Water...why does it always have to be water?"

"Excuse me..." said an ominous rumble that people in Nerima had long ago learned to interpret as the sound of Watazashi smoldering with anger, "But who are you people...and what are you doing in my family pool?"

"Good question," said one of the guys, looking around, "Where the hell are we?"

"How should I know?" the purple haired girl next to him remarked, "Do I look like a tour guide?"

"This does seem familiar," said a second purple-haired girl slightly taller than the others, "Fragrance-chan, does this look to you like the Kuno mansion?"

"Hard to tell," Fragrance said as she rubbed her watery eyes, "Too much chlorine in the pool, but it could be Aunt Natsume's place."

"Purple hair?" Yuan turned to Watazashi, "You think maybe they're Amazons from Joketsuzoku?"

"If so, then they're about to be very dead Amazons if I don't get some answers," Watazashi glowered as she began to emit a battle aura.

"Oh sorry," one of the newcomers said, "This has all been a really big misunderstanding. You see, I was trying to get to Nerima in the year 2016 and...uh, that wouldn't happen to be the date, would it?"

"Poor thing," said Takane as he came up alongside the girl, "Must have hit your head on the bottom. Here, let me help you-OOFF!"

"Back off!" the alleged girl suddenly snarled as she whirled around and punched the tall boy in the stomach, "I'm a guy, you got it? And I don't go in for stuff like that. This is serious, okay? Like I was trying to say, I need to get to the Tendo Dojo right away and..."

The glow in her other hand suddenly flared to life once again, causing her to start in dismay as a blue pulse shot through the water and suddenly reality once more was inverted...

"Hey, everybody, we're home!" Rinse called out as she, Yinra and Tachi entered through the front gates to the Tendo estate.

"I think everybody's already gathered around in back," Yinra pointed out, "We may be the last ones to arrive for the party."

"That figures," Tachi sniffed, "I'll bet Yangra's in the middle of it all soaking up the attention of our elders. Your brother sure can be the little charmer when he wants."

"Yeah, right," Yinra snorted, privately wondering why her twin brother was liked and respected when all she ever seemed to get was yelled at for things that were not even her fault to begin with.

"Party atmosphere, guys," Rinse reminded, "Just remember to smile and try to put up with the behavior of our grandparents."

"Oh Kami," Tachi groaned, "I hope that doesn't mean that I've got to be nice to Ivory..."

"Hey, she is your cousin," Yinra reminded, "And she's half Amazon on her father's side, so you should try being nice to her, too, Sis."

"Yeah, right," Rinse snorted, "I just hope they don't ask her to do any fancy tricks, like her Magic act, she always tries something sneaky around Ryoukio."

"I thought you weren't interested," Tachi teased, then adopted a pleasant smile as they came upon the family gathering, already in progress, which filled most of the practice yard outside the dojo.

All of the adults were present: Mouse, and Kodachi, her brother Tatewaki and his wife, Nabiki, Natsume, Kurumi, Kasumi and Tofu, Ryoga and Ukyo, Grandfather Genma and Nodoka, Aunt Hinako and Grandfather Soun, the ancients Cologne and Happosai, and-of course-their parents: Ranma, Shampoo and Akane.

Of course where the parents went would naturally follow their children, which included Brand, Ivory, Ryoukio and Belldandy. Yinra's twin brother, Yangra, was chatting pleasantly with his grandparents, much to the annoyance of his sister, and everyone was circulating into small groups for private conversations, enjoying the abundant victuals that Kasumi and Shampoo kept providing, when Ranma noticed the arrival of the rest of his children.

Calling the assembly to order he assumed the role of Clan Head by saying, "Listen up everyone! Now that you're all here we can start this meeting of the family by everybody gathering around inside the dojo. My wives and I have a few announcements that we'd like to make before you all, and I for one sure don't want to have to repeat myself..."

"Then get to the point, Saotome," Kuno growled, glancing at his watch in a significant manner, "I have a meeting with the Board of Directors for Kuno Industries in another fifteen minutes and I'd rather not have to excuse myself as we're having a little problem with a Hostile bid by Genom industries..."

"Ignore the big goof," Nabiki grinned as she patted her husband's arm, "I had to convince him that we could do the meeting by Hololink from the limo just to drag his sorry ass out of the office. If we get this over in the next five minutes I'm sure that the both of us will have plenty of time to rally the Board behind us."

"As if you haven't been working yourself twice as hard, wife," Kuno eyed Nabiki with a tolerant expression.

"No problem, Tatewaki old buddy," Ranma smiled, "We understand how the business world keeps the two of you busy. Of course this happens to concern your daughter..."

"Uh oh," Tachi murmured, "I don't like the sound of this..."

Rinse was about to say something to the effect of agreeing with her cousin when a sudden Chi flash made her and every other sensitive in the yard look up abruptly in astonishment as a circle of light opened up over their heads, then suddenly it started raining people, not to mention a few thousand gallons of Chlorinated pool water. Everyone with lightning-quick reflexes did what they could to get out of the way, those who didn't got wet and/or broke the fall of one of the ten youths who came in for a rude landing.

"Terrific," Ranma complained, having just missed getting clear of the drenching, and those nearest to him hardly bothered to notice the fact that his voice was pitched high, his hair was now red and he was almost a foot shorter. He...or rather she...glared at the new arrivals and growled, "Who's responsible for it this...time?"

Those selfsame new arrivals were just then recovering their bearings and/or taking notice of the persons whom they had landed upon when several heads turned in reply to that accusatory statement.

"Father!" they said in mass chorus, "I can explain everything...it wasn't my...fault?"

Those selfsame faces now exchanged looks, each one of them wearing a similarly astonished expression.

"Oh my," Kasumi's voice broke into the ensuing silence like a drop of water on a still lake, "I never expected that we would have this many people dropping in. If I had I would have prepared a larger snack tray."

"What in the world?" asked Akane.

"You got me, Akane," said Shampoo, who stood right beside her.

"Confidentially, Shampoo-chan," Nabiki mused as she took notice of the significant number of kids who had purple colored hair, "I think some of your relatives have come by for a visit."

"But why are they dressed differently?" Tachi murmured at her mother's side, "And they're all about my age..."

"By that I take it you mean that you see a resemblance here," said one of the purple-haired newcomers as she rose to her feet with a sardonic expression, "To which I would agree, except I didn't know we had any cousins who looked like you, Fama."

"Fama?" Nabiki blinked, exchanging puzzled looks with Tachi.

"Must mean you, Mom," Tachi shrugged.

"Mom?" Lylac blinked, only her words were drowned out by several other voices whose reactions were somewhat less restrained and thoughtful.

"I got a feeling something here is not Kosher," Yuan-yen said to her companion, Watazashi.

"Tell me about it," replied her dark haired companion.

"What you mean, stupid boy?" Shampoo gasped, "I never see you before, why you call me your mother?"

"Huh?" Razor replied stupidly before turning a puzzled look towards Ryoga and saying, "Dad...can you explain to me why Mom's behaving like a dingus? OW!"

"Don't talk that way about my mother!" snapped Shamran, "Sorry, Mom, I don't know who this pervert is but I'll bet anything that he's from China."

"China?" Razor frowned, "Well, I've been to China a few times, but I'm from Japan, the same as Takane here."

"Takane?" Akane blinked, looking up at a boy who looked incredibly like Tatewaki Kuno.

"What?" the boy asked, "Did I do something wrong, Mom? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Did I hear right, Sugar?" Ukyo glared at her husband, "Did he just call you Dad, and Shampoo Mom?"

"Huh?" Ryoga looked stupidly towards his wife, "But I..." his voice trailed off as he saw her reaching for her trademark baker's peel.

"Interesting," murmured Cologne, who exchanged meaningful looks with Happosai.

"Interesting doesn't begin to cover it," the old pervert said with amused glee, rubbing his tiny little hands as he contemplated the wealth of pulchritude before him.

"Father," Watazashi said to the redheaded girl with the pigtailed braid, "I don't exactly know what's going on here, or why we're back at the Tendo residence..."

"W-What?" Ranma reacted to the girl who looked incredibly much like another Kuno, "What did you just call me?"

"Don't look at me," Ryokoma shrugged, "I just came along for the ride the same as the others."

"Wow," Yangra said as he studied the other boy with a serious expression, "You look enough like me that we could almost be brothers."

"Something doesn't quite add up here," murmured a brown haired girl with a very puzzled expression before she sniffed the air and said, "The scent is similar, but she doesn't look enough like your father...more like Aunt Keiko."

"Who's Aunt Keiko?" Ryoukio asked in confusion, which was an all-too-typical state for him, while at his side Brand and his sister, Ivory, were giving the whole assemblage some serious attention.

A high pitched whistle brought everyone around to see the purple haired girl standing in the center next to another female shape that only nominally looked human. This one had pink-tinged fur all over her body and was distinctly cat-  
like in appearance with two prominent ears and some whiskers to complete the impression that she was trying out for the Musical known as CATS. It was the human girl, however, who was waving up her arm to attract notice before speaking.

"Everyone, I'm very sorry about this! It's all my fault, I know, this wasn't supposed to have happened, but everything got kind of screwed up, like it sometimes does, so if you'll allow me to explain everything we can get this sorted out then I promise that I'll try and unscrew it..."

"Who are you, young lady?" demanded an anxious Soun, who had finally managed to make his voice heard amid the previous cacophony.

"My name is Hibiki Akira," the girl replied, "I'm also a Saotome, the same as many of you, only from about twenty years more or less in the future..."

"A Saotome," groaned Tatewaki Kuno from where he lay pressed down in the dirt, "Why am I not surprised to hear this?"

"Hibiki?" Ranma repeated in a tone of dull amazement, "And a Saotome?"

"Oh my," said Belldandy, whose voice and mannerisms perfectly mirrored those of her mother, "Are you related to Uncle Ranma by any chance?"

"Sure am," the girl replied, "He's my grandfather on my mother's side, my mother being Spring Saotome of the Joketsuzoku Amazons..."

"Spring?" Ranma called out, then saw a slender clawed hand rise up in acknowledgement.

"He means me, Father," she replied, being careful to cover her face with one paw.

"Why are you hiding yourself like that?" inquired Rinse Saotome, "And why are you all furry...?"

"Uh, it's kind of a long story," Spring replied, still keeping her face averted, "You see...I have this curse thing that makes me look like this when I get wet..."

"Same here," sighed Akira, looking down at herself in exasperation.

"Uh..." Ranma-chan said nervously, "This...curse of yours...it makes you look like a..."

"A human Cat?" Ryokoma finished for her, not seeing the way the redhead involuntarily shuddered, "And did she just call you as Ranma? You look more like my Aunt Keiko than my Dad."

"Dad?" Ranma-chan's blue eyes got even rounder.

"Excuse me," Cologne looked up at the pig-tailed cat-girl in Chinese clothing and added, "I take it that you must be my great great granddaughter on your mother's side of the family, and in your natural shape you look like a combination of her and my son-in-law."

"Yes, Elder," Spring sounded puzzled, "But why would you ask me about a thing like that? You've known me most of my life when I haven't been traveling with my father on training missions."

"Say what?" Rinse reacted, "And when was that? For your information I don't have any sister who's got a curse like you and...what is your name anyway?"

"Spring," she replied, uncovering her face to give the other purple-haired girl a hard lookover, "Saotome Spring. And who are you?"

"Saotome Rinse," the other girl responded with a glare, "And I don't like your tone, 'Sister!'"

"Ladies..." another purple haired girl stepped into the space between the two parties, "Let's keep calm about all of this, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation, which is what Akira-san here was about to tell us, right?"

"Um, right," Akira replied, only to be interrupted by a chilling laugh.

"Mother?" Watazashi looked surprised as she turned to see Kodachi's eyes sparkle with amusement.

"What a splendid example of behavior that confirms identities as well as a DNA scan," the Black Rose said merrily, "These two not only act like the brazen Amazon strumpet, they doubtlessly look like her once the feline one is changed back to normal."

Ranma was looking from Kodachi to Watazashi before he murmured, "Oh no...please, Gods, no! Not her...anybody but her...!"

"I don't know what your problem is, lady, but..." Spring started to say when she felt hot water poor down over her head, and she turned to see a brown haired girl regarding her with soft hazel eyes, so she said, "Oh, thank you! I feel so much better as myself..."

"Oh my," said Belldandy as she looked from Spring to Rinse to Akira to Lylac and then to Shamran and finally Razor, "You do look sort of like one another..."

"That's what I'm trying to explain...oh, thank you!" said Akira as he felt himself return to normal, and turned a grateful smile towards his benefactor as he said, "I could always count on you, Aunt Kasumi."

"Oh my," Kasumi blinked, seeing the handsome youth before her, who had grown by several inches and had a much more robust (and decidedly male) body.

"This just keeps getting better and better," Nabiki mused.

"Tell me about it," Tachi folded her arms and unconsciously duplicated the posture of her mother.

Yuan-yen just stared at the two of them before shaking her head and saying, "Weird..."

"Well now," Cologne recovered from her surprise, "Great-great-great Grandson, tell us why you are here and how you arrived so suddenly, along with these others."

"That's what I've been trying to say for the past several minutes, Elder," Akira lifted the pendant around his neck and said, "You see, this device can transport me back through time and across dimensions just by willing it. I was sent back by my grandparents to fetch their past selves back to my time and..."

"Give me that!" Spring snatched the pendant out of the boy's hands, "You've caused enough trouble for one day. Don't you realize how powerful this thing is? What was mother thinking to let you have it?"

"Mom?" the boy replied, looking as if he had been scolded by a parent, "Um...well...you know, I was kind of the only one left who was in any shape to make the trip..."

"There is some sort of emergency in your time?" Cologne asked him, being careful to note the way Spring was holding the pendant so as to wait for the right opening.

"Uh, yeah...a pretty serious one at that," Akira replied, "I need help from my grandparents to make things right in my time, and the pendant's my only way home, so could I please have it back, Mom?"

"First answer me one question." Spring tapped the boy on the chest, "You say that I'm your mother...or I'm going to be one day... but who is your father?"

"Oh, um..." the boy put a hand to the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh before saying, "His name's Godai...Hibiki Godai..."

"HIBIKI GODAI?" came several voices in mutually surprised chorus.

"Hey," Ryoga blinked, "That's the same name as me..."

"It figures!" Akane rolled her eyes, "I'll bet he even has the same problem with directions."

"How did you know, Grandmother?" Akira asked, looking back in her direction.

"Huh?" Akane blanched, "Grandmother?"

"Well, what d'ya know about that, Sugar?" Ukyo said with a wry smile, "Guess on his timeline Ryoga had the balls to actually ask you out, will miracles never cease?"

"Is that anyway to talk about Dad?" Ryoukio asked his mother.

"Mother?" Fragrance reacted with a questioning look from the boy to the woman who looked and smelled so much like the one who had borne her.

"Something tells me that things are about to get out of hand," murmured Genma.

"You're right, Saotome," Soun agreed, "But the question is...what do we do to put a stop to it? It's bad enough that your son choice to marry both Shampoo and Akane, but this..."

Hinako glanced at her husband then gave Nodoka a sage look before murmuring, "Men," and then she pulled out her trademark coin and held it up significantly. She was gratified to note that the gesture caused everyone present to fall immediately silent, to which she smiled and said, "That's better."

"It would seem to me that we have a little problem in sorting out who belongs to what timeline," Cologne said into the ensuing silence, "Personally I find it very interesting to see such variety represented, but for clarity's sake we must sort out which of you young people claims which parties for your parents. Would all of you kindly approach the woman whom you would claim to be your mother?"

"Not a bad idea, Old Ghoul," Ranma smiled as hot water was poured upon his head, causing him to revert to male status (to the surprise of a few of those present), "Okay everybody, let's try that, shall we? Akane, Shampoo, Ukyo and Nabiki, you seem to be the ones most at the center of everybody's attention, so if you'll spread out we can see who says who here belongs to which mother."

His two wives agreed to step out into the open, then Spring, Rinse, Lylac, Shamran and Razor gathered around the Amazon while Akane found herself looking up at Takane while her twins stood gaping at the brother they neither had expected nor looked for.

"I don't believe this..." was all Akane could say as she looked upon the irrefutable evidence of a relationship between herself and Tatewaki Kuno.

Ukyo, meanwhile, found herself confronted by Ryokoma and Fragrance, while her son, Ryoukio was giving his new brother and sister a serious lookover. Nabiki, on the other hand, had Yuan-yen sharing space with her own Tachi.

"Yuan-yen?" Nabiki asked with a sardonic lilt to her eyebrows.

"Uh, it was kind of a joke on your part, Mom," replied the brown haired girl before her, "You thought Amazons names had to mean something, and Dad said the only thing that meant more to you than him was money, so..."

"Amazon?" Nabiki blinked, "Who was your father?"

"Him," Yuan-yen replied, pointing at Mousse, who was standing next to a much-  
bemused Kodachi.

"Ohohohoho!" the Black Rose chuckled in amusement, "This is rich! You're saying then that you are my daughter on a parallel world where I got my heart's desire and married my precious Ranma-sama?"

"Yes," Watazashi replied with a puzzled look, uncertain upon meeting this version of her mother, "What's so odd about that? On my world Uncle Mousse here is married to the Tendo Mercenary, fathering upon her my own darling companion, Yuan-yen. Are you telling me that these two are my para-dimensional siblings?" she nodded towards Ivory and Brand, who were giving her looks that were anything but filial in nature.

"Saotome..." Mousse started to growl when a new thought occurred to him as he turned to stare at the girl standing next to Nabiki.

Ranma turned to the somewhat crestfallen Akira and said, "Well...uh...grandson? Looks like you're the odd one out here..."

"Tell me about it, Grandfather," Akira sighed, "And all I wanted was to find you and mother to bring you back with me to my own time...but I didn't even get the right timeline!"

"You're a Hibiki all right," Ranma chuckled, then patted the boy on the shoulder and said, "Things'll work out in the end...they always do more or less. Nothing ever went right for me when I was your age, and did I ever get myself into my share of scrapes...Ryoga, too, now that I think on it..."

"Laugh all you want, Ranma," Ryoga glared, then turned back to the assemblage and sighed, "So many strange faces, and only one of them claims me for a father..."

"Count yourself lucky," Ranma began counting heads, "I think I've got about four of 'em myself, not counting my own kids, and one swears her mother is somebody I'd never even expect to meet on a blind date. You say the one with the cat curse is your mother?"

"Um, yeah, more or less," Akira said sheepishly, "The way I hear tell it, Mom inherited a weird combination of your Nyanniichuan curse and grandmother's Maonnichuan..."

"That does not sound too likely, boy," Cologne said somewhat flatly, "Jusenkyo curses are not inheritable."

"Not for me anyway," Akira said, "I got mine pretty much the same way you did, grandfather, but mother was born under unusual circumstances while her mother was trapped in cat form, so ever since she was little whenever she gets wet she..."

"Turns into that...thing we saw a while ago," Ranma said with a slight shudder, "Okay, I suppose I can deal with that. Cute kid, I've gotta admit, and I'll bet she's even a strong fighter."

"The best," Akira said proudly, then added, "Only then she met my father, Godai..."

"The son of Ryoga and Akane?" Cologne was amused to see that Ryoga had not worked this out for himself until it was brought to his attention, and now he was staring at Akira with an astonished expression, "Yes, I can see how that combination would produce a very strong fighter, no doubt of Herculean proportions."

Of a sudden they heard a voice cry out, "Your father is who?"

"Um, not father precisely," Lylac said carefully to the woman who looked so incredibly much like her own mother that it was scary, "More like father-mother. You see...on my timeline my Fama was the one with the Jusenkyo curse and heir to the Anything Goes school...you'll back me up on this, Sis?"

"That's the way it happened," Shamran affirmed, then frowned, "You're saying it's my Dad who has the curse on this timeline?"

"Your dad being...?" Rinse asked with a helpful hint.

"Ranma Saotome," Shamran replied matter-of-factly.

"Okay," Spring mused, "That part sounds normal, but you're saying that father isn't cursed on that timeline? And what's this about Dad having more than one offspring?"

"Oh, you mean Ryokoma?" Lylac replied, "He's our brother by Ukyo Kuonji. You see...our parents have this weird five-way thing that kind of started out as a business arrangement after Grandfather Genma engaged Dad to two women..."

"You mean Ukyo and Akane?" Shampoo asked, sensing a parallel to a familiar story.

"Aunt Akane?" Shamran replied, "No, she's married to Uncle Ryoga..."

"My Dad?" Razor snorted, "No way! He'd never cheat on my mother, even if you gave him permission, Mom!"

"Calm down, son," said Doctor Tofu, who handed the purple haired boy one of the sweets from the tray his wife was blithely passing about to the others, "I'm sure we can reasonably sort this out if you'll all just be patient."

Somehow Shampoo was finding difficulty with the notion that she could have borne a son who claimed Ryoga for a father, but fortunately for her Nabiki chose that moment to approach them.

"Let me see if I can shed some light on matters here," Nabiki eyed the assembly of purple haired kids with more than a little amusement, only when Lylac smiled her way she found herself becoming uneasy, "Razor...that's your name, right? It fits. Well...this isn't really your Mom, you see? It's someone who looks and sounds incredibly like her but it's not really her, are you with me?"

"Huh?" Razor blinked, to which Nabiki sighed and silently withdrew the question.

"Okay then," she turned her attention back towards Lylac and Shamran, "Now you both claim Shampoo is your mother, only one of you is the daughter of Ranma Saotome. And you...?" she paused then hastily amended, "Never mind. So the kid over there is Ukyo's son by Ranma, and he's also your brother, so that means both Ukyo and Shampoo are married to Ranma..."

"Not...exactly," Lylac held up a finger, "Dad is married to Ukyo, but he's only technically married to Shampoo through his other wife, my Fama, who just happens to look and sound an incredible lot like you, except that my world's Nabiki has the Jusenkyo curse Nannichuan, and she got married to my mother on the day they met in Joketsuzoku."

"You say I marry sneaky mercenary pervert-girl?" Shampoo asked with an incredulous expression.

"Hey!" Nabiki protested.

"Afraid so, Mom," Shamran replied, "Way I hear it was quite a long story about how you followed Mama Nabiki all the way to Nerima with Big Sis here nothing more than a bun in the oven and you confronted her after she were already engaged to marry Dad, and then Ukyo shows up on the same night claiming that her father and Grampa engaged her to a boy she'd never even met..."

"What's this?" Ukyo blinked, having been attracted to the story, "You're saying I was engaged BEFORE I met Ranchan?"

"That's the way I heard it, Mom," Ryokoma replied, "Grandfather insisted on the marriage and was threatening the Saotomes with financial loss if they didn't agree to honor their agreement. Mother Nabiki came up with the strategy to have the both of you share in the engagement using an obscure Amazon law that permits four warriors to share the same husband."

"Fascinating," Cologne observed, "A very elegant resolution to the engagement problem. I see some things are consistent on other worlds, Son-in-law, save that you chose a different Tendo."

"Huh?" Ranma said, "Wait a minute...FOUR women? Who was the forth, then?"

"My mother," Fragrance said.

"And that would be...?" Ukyo said nervously, realizing that a strange parallel existed between this brown haired girl and the purple haired Lylac.

"Perfume the Enforcer," Fragrance said proudly, "Greatest warrior of the Joketsuzoku, next to Momma Shampoo, that is, and-of course, Mother Nabiki..."

"Who...?" Ukyo gasped, then completed the question, "...is this is Perfume-  
character?"

"Her?" Shampoo frowned, "Why you say that one as great fighter as me? She weakest fighter in whole village! Even Mousse could take her!"

"Hey!" Mousse immediately protested.

"On our timeline, perhaps," Cologne remarked, "The child had a serious problem that impeded her ability to perform adequately as a warrior, but you say she is a strong fighter?"

"Uh huh," Fragrance replied primly, "You take her in and adopt her as Great Granddaughter, then train her to be Enforcer for the whole village!"

"As opposed to Ambergris on our timeline," Cologne marveled, "I see the other version of me had an excellent strategy in mind, too bad I never thought of it myself. Such a waste in potential..." she sighed, shaking her head sadly.

"Indeed," Happosai said, unable to contain himself any longer, "But this is wonderful news! It means that most of you kids are my great-great-great granddaughters and sons! Allow me to give you all a proper fatherly greeting...!"

The old man started to leap forward only to find the female and male halves of the crowd were united about one thing, the undesirability of his presence! Poor Happosai never saw which ones proceeded to launch him into orbit, only that he was soon among the clouds with a trajectory and speed that was nearly escape velocity.

"Okay," Nabiki tried again as everyone recovered their bearings, turning her attention towards Lylac, "So you're saying that the Nabiki you know has Ranma's curse and is married to him...and she's also your biological father?'

Lylac nodded, "Fama's also the strongest fighter in all of Nerima, the one everybody turns to whenever they have a problem. She's the heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial arts, trained by Grandfather Genma himself after he fostered Dad with the Tendos...in kind of a misguided attempt to have Ranma grow up with this then-fianc e, Aunt Akane."

"You what?" Soun turned upon Genma in outrage, "You train my daughter and then inflict her with your son's curse? How could you, Saotome?"

"Huh?" Genma looked as if he had been blind-sided by the accusation, "Now wait a minute, Tendo-kun! I couldn't have been the one to do that because it never happened..."

"No," Nodoka said, "But it does sound like something you would do."

"Abusing a child left in your care," Hinako fumed, "You...delinquent!"

Natsume turned to her sister and said, "I'm beginning to detect a pattern..."

"I see," said Tatewaki Kuno, then paused before confessing, "No I don't. Can you explain that for me, wife? I fail to see the attraction between you and Saotome...even less between you and the Amazon, and then there is this fine fellow over here who claims to be my son..."

Watazashi glanced sidelong at her mother, who was laughing again, then folded her arms and said, "I don't see what's so funny about all of this. As near as I can tell we've been kidnapped from our right and proper worlds, and I for one am not amused, particularly at meeting so many strangers claiming to be my brothers and sisters."

"At least now you have some, 'Zashi-chan" Yuan-yen replied before nodding her head, "But you're right, it is weird."

"You think it's weird?" asked the one named Ivory Kuno.

"Try looking at it from our side," added Brand, her half-brother.

"I have one question of my own," Lylac raised a hand then turned to regard Ranma, "You say that you have the curse on this timeline and are married to both Akane Tendo and my mother?"

"Uh...yeah," Ranma winced, "It's kind of funny how that happened, but then I guess it's no stranger than me having four wives instead of two, right?" he asked the latter part nervously, receiving sour looks from both Shampoo and Akane.

"Actually," Fragrance replied, "My Fama is married to my mother by Amazon law," she nodded to an astonished Ukyo before continuing, "And through her she is married to Father Saotome. Ryokoma here is my idiot half-brother..."

"Yeah," Ryokoma sniffed, "Whatever."

"Wait!" Ukyo called for a Time Out with her hands, "Is this Perfume character a guy with the curse or a girl?"

"Mother Perfume is most definitely female," replied Lylac, "But she had a one-  
time brush with my Fama's curse and was temporarily rendered male...long enough to impregnate my Mother Ukyo, although from what I've been able to tell it was by mutual consent that Fragrance was conceived by magic."

"Weird," Akane shook her head, "She even sounds like you, Oneesan."

"Uh..." Nabiki felt even more confused than before, "Mind going back to that bit about me training with Uncle Genma...?"

"Um," Akira spoke up at last, "Pardon me for bringing this up, but I do kind of have to get back to my own time eventually. I never meant to involve the rest of you, but if you'll give me back the pendant, Mom, I'll try and put everything right again."

"Eh?" Watazashi blinked, turning to look towards Spring, "That's right...you have the pendant!"

"The thing that brought us all here?" Shamran asked.

"The thing we need to get back home," Takane nodded.

"You mean home to my Mother and Father?" Razor said in surprise, then all at once he and several other of the youth present lunged simultaneously for Spring, who was astonished at suddenly being the center of everyone's attention.

"Hold it!" Lylac interposed herself between her Interdimensional brothers, sisters and near acquaintances, "Don't everyone rush her at once! We need to do this calmly and reasonably or we could have a repeat of the accident that brought us all into contact with one another!"

"Screw that, Sis!" Ryokoma flared, "That pendant's the key to me getting back to see my Bell-chan..."

"You mean there's someone else who looks like me?" asked the gentle girl known as Belldandy, "I think I'd very much like to meet her."

"I think you all should go to blazes!" Spring flared, waving the hand that held the pendant, "Nobody's getting this thing back until we sort this out and..."

"No way!" Razor cried as he fought his way around Lylac and Shamran, who were having difficulties containing the rush by all of the others, "That pendant is mine!"

"Keep your hands off my mother!" flared Akira, who leaped just barely in time to intercept the other boy as Razor laid a hand on the fist of his Paratime sister.

"Sweet!" Happosai cried as he chose that moment to return, jumping on the back of Spring and fondling her from reflex when he had meant to make off with the pendant.

"Oh no..." Cologne said as Spring started to glow as if she had manifested a Battle Aura.

"GET OFF OF ME!" the purple-haired pig-tailed girl snarled as with a single punch that again sent the ancient Master soaring. She held up her glowing fist and said, "I want to go back home to China!"

"No!" Razor chose that moment to break free from Akira and grabbed her, "You're not leaving without me!"

"Keep your hands off my mother!" Akira said for the second time, when all of a sudden the glow surrounding Spring engulfed both him and Razor.

And not only them but every other teenager present within the courtyard of the dojo.

"What the...?" Ranma exclaimed in a surprise that was virtually universal.

"Do something!" Akane cried.

"Like what?" replied Shampoo, just one second before the mass glow faded out, leaving no one under the age of sixteen present in the courtyard.

"Oh my," said Nodoka into the silence that filled the half-emptied space before her.

"The kids!" Ukyo cried out in panic, looking around, "Where did they go?"

"Good question," Cologne remarked, "Unfortunately I don't know the answer."

"Oh dear," said Kasumi, "Is Belldandy also missing?"

"My son...!" cried Mousse.

"Our daughter!" said a now devastated Kodachi, who blinked then added, "Daughters!"

"Where did everybody go?" Nabiki asked, then started, "Oh no...you don't think...?"

"Think what?" asked Natsume.

"Did they all go back to their original timelines?" added Kurumi.

"I'm afraid not," said Genma, "Or else our grandkids wouldn't have also turned up missing."

"You're right, Saotome," said Soun in sudden panic, "Where are the children? Does anyone know where to find them?"

"Don't despair, Soun-chan," Hinako urged her husband, "We'll find them...somehow."

"Yes, but...how?" Ryoga asked, voicing the sentiments of everyone else present.

"A good question," replied Cologne as everyone fell into a thoughtful silence...

Continued.

Comments/Criticisms/Convergences Unlimited: shadowmane

Where am I going with this? Several directions at once, but first a brief stop-  
off on my way Back to the Future! (Or, more likely, I'll just meander around a little in other people's playgrounds...) Be there.

If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: . or it's mirror site at: ~ All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.


	3. Chapter 3

RanBite2

Realities Byte

By Jim Robert Bader

(Loosely Based on the Works of Rumiko Takahashi and inspired by the Convergences series)

The Second Chapter.

Dark Future.

"Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble as when it forgoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury."

-E.H. Chapin

Yokohama Gengi gave curious scrutiny to the two men standing before him. To all appearances they seemed fairly ordinary in three piece suits with dark sunglasses, but there was something disturbing in the air about them, a sense of menace that was undeniable, defying analysis or description, perhaps because of the confident way they both stood while surrounded by his people.

"You have my merchandise?" he said cautiously, ready to give the nod for his men to open fire should either of the two standing before him so much as twitch a muscle.

Gengi did not like the way one of the man just smiled in response while the one nearest to him maintain a total absence of any emotions, clearly allowing his companion to do all the talking.

"Yeah, we have the devices," said the one whose arrogance shown through his features, "They aren't yours, though, so if you want them you'll have to pay the price."

Gengi would have laughed at the audacity of that statement if it were not for the chilling way it had been delivered. Instead he said aloud, "You have some balls saying that to me after you and your associate dared to rip my people off in the first place."

"What can I say?" the man before him shrugged, "They were careless. Now they're dead."

Gengi frowned. These men had just gone from arrogant to insufferable, yet why did they seem so unconcerned about their own safety? Surrounded by twenty heavily armed men, a simple nod would be all it took to fill both the man and his silent companion so full of holes that they would look like cheese graters.

Deciding that it was best to call their bluff, Gengi folded his arms and said, "I suggest that you reconsider your position. The components that you carry in those cases are very fragile and I would hate risking their damage by prying them from your cold and lifeless fingers."

To his complete surprise the man before him began to chuckle, a sound that contained no real mirth and only a wealth of infinite sadness.

"And I have a suggestion for you," the man said as he removed his sunglasses to reveal a pair of very blue eyes in spite of clearly Japanese features, "Pray to whatever gods you honor. The Kami may have mercy, but I won't, unless you tell us about who you want these parts for."

Gengi's patience had worn thin and he was about to give the order to fire when-  
to his considerable astonishment-the man started to glow, as did his somber companion. His men noticed this as well, and they began to draw their weapons in a belated attempt to anticipate their Boss's next command. Gengi recovered from his surprise enough to cry, "Kill them!" but by that time the duo had built up such an intensity to their auras that it was almost impossible to look on them. It was not intense light that they were seeing, though, it was something else that hurt the eye just by looking.

One second later the warehouse they were standing in exploded with a force so great that it rocked ships out in the harbor and caused car alarms to sound off for miles in all directions landward. Police would later say that a liquid gas storage center had been the cause of the detonation, coupled with all sorts of dangerous munitions that had been illegally stored there for shipment to foreign harbors. That was, of course, the official story...

Unofficially the two men who had been at the center of the blast calmly walked out of the rubble without a stitch out of place, their hair not even ruffled. They entered a car parked less than two blocks away, then the one with blue eyes casually pulled out a long-stemmed pipe and filled it with tobacco, not even bothering to use a lighter in order to get it going. The two remained sitting there while the sound of sirens converged upon the yet-smoldering crater.

The car-it should come as no surprise-looked something like an old-style Delorean, but fashioned on the outside to accommodate more contemporary car styles.

His somber companion waited with the windows rolled down, ignoring the acrid odor that his companion found so relaxing, but after a long moment of contemplation he finally turned and said, "That was a little excessive, you know. We were supposed to gather evidence..."

"I know," his partner replied, blowing rings of smoke without glancing to see them curl out into thin air, "But you've got to admit it was satisfying."

"For who?" the other man asked with annoyance, "We just blew a week's investigation, along with all our evidence, and killed the only crime lord who could have given us the lead to the guy who's behind this illegal transport of Temporal Technology. You know we're going to catch it when word gets to the home office."

"You worry too much, you know that?" his companion replied, "Something's bound to turn up. We've rattled too many cages, so it's just a matter of-pardon the pun-Time before the bad guys come looking for us, and then we'll be ready."

"Look, Ranma," his companion tried more reasonably, "You know as well as I do what's at stake if we don't shut down this operation. Several Paratime universes could suffer a disruption in their histories. It's all well and good for you to grandstand and go around looking for trouble, but while we're sitting here waiting for them to make the next move..."

A noise from the dashboard of their car drew their attention before Hibiki Ryoga could finish his statement. Ranma sniffed as he touched the release button, causing a hidden console to be revealed as he said, "Looks like they just did. Hmm...tracking makes it as an unauthorized transfer, retrolinear projections make it as a type Eleven anomaly, signature class C, progressing backwards along a cross-time corridor transfer grid..."

"I'm on it," Ryoga adjusted the controls that caused the in-built computers to make the necessary calculations, "Estimated arrival point...Nerima, Japan...about twenty years in the past...you don't think?"

"Nerima?" Ranma's expression hardened, "Somebody without a pass code is going back there using an unregistered device? That's...pretty serious...maybe we ought to check it out."

All of a sudden a light flashed above the dashboard and the face of a pretty Japanese girl with short brown hair said, "Negative, Saotome! Do not engage anomaly! That is a direct order from the Central Office. Other units will be dispatched to deal with the anomaly. You are to proceed with your present mission to intercept the illegal transfer of temporal technology chips..."

"Uh...Nabiki?" Ryoga winced, "You...um...heard about how we..."

"Played Kamikaze again and blew up another link?" the holographic image of Tendo Nabiki did not change expression, but anyone who knew her well could see the flash of annoyance in her eyes, "So what else is new with Captain Nitro over here? Honestly, Saotome, you could at least get the guy to confess before you do a summary execution number. Now I have to do the investigative work all over again so we can finally catch our mister Bigshot..."

"Nice to see you still have my best interests at heart, Nabiki," Ranma said without irony, "Now what's this about us not investigating this Speeder?"

"You heard right, Ranma," Nabiki's expression glared daggers in his direction, "You are not to go anywhere near Nerima, Japan, not so long as the moratorium is still in effect. Besides, this Speeder does not appear to be the cause of the anomaly. If you'll kindly examine the data you'll discover that this retrolinear passage is one of many that radiate out from a central point along Grid 5-9-11N-37. It began on a parallel timeline quite a few jumps from where you are and spirals out to form at least five separate anomalies, only one of which carries the radial signature of the Nexus."

"So somebody's used an unstable device to send some people back along five separate projections, huh?" Ranma mused, "Interesting. Sounds almost like a random event, not a planned transfer."

"Exactly my point," Nabiki replied, "Logic and Systems both concur that this is not an organized venture, meaning it deals strictly with the amateur leagues, possibly a gate or device activated by someone who doesn't know what they're doing. Your job is the organized crime cases, the real menaces to the Timelines. That is why you are to proceed with your current mission and ignore the anomaly...and for the name of the Kami, this time try to leave a witness alive long enough to interrogate him!"

The image winked out, leaving the two men to sit silently in their car while absorbing the new information. After a moment of this Ryoga turned to Ranma and said, "She sounded pretty pissed with you this time."

"So what else is new?" Ranma took a puff on his pipe and looked thoughtful.

Ryoga shook his head slowly, "I don't know why you put her through this, Ranma. The two of you just seem to work at getting on each other's nerves. You're not fooling anybody but yourselves, you know."

"I don't got no idea what you're talking about," Ranma glanced away, hiding his expression.

"She's a good woman," Ryoga persisted, "She's waited a long time. Are you gonna make her wait forever?"

Ranma just gave a bitter laugh at that and said, "Mind your own business, Porky, and she's better off looking somewhere else. I ain't in the market, and you know why, P-chan."

Ryoga refused to rise to the tired old bait and said, "She deserves better than that from you, Ranma..."

"You're right," Ranma replied, not even bothering to hide his disgust, "She deserves better than I can give her."

Ryoga just shook his head sadly and sighed to himself, wishing he could check in with his wife, Akari, to get her advice on how to convince his stubborn friend that there was no point in living in the past forever. He was trying to think of a new way of saying just that when Ranma surprised him by saying, "All right, let's do it."

"Do what?" Ryoga said with alarm, turning a confused look towards his partner.

"What do we always do when something doesn't add up right?" Ranma asked as he began programming the controls on the middle panel between their seats, "We check on leads, and right now this anomaly is looking pretty hot by my estimation."

"What?" Ryoga almost panicked, knowing from experience that stubborn set to his friend's jaw as Ranma started up their engine, "Against orders? But...!"

"I know what she said," Ranma replied, "Nabiki always worries about me whenever I do anything by the gut, but right now I could care less what she thinks, I'm going anyway."

"No!" Ryoga reached out a hand to stop his friend from activating the accelerator, "It's wrong! You know we're sworn never to tamper with the Timestream..."

"Like we don't do it all the time?" Ranma sniffed, giving his friend a hard look before he added, "Come on, Ryoga, you know you want to do this as much as I do. It's not like I'm planning to do anything crazy."

"But..."

"What about it?" Ranma asked, "You never think about what it might have been like to change things? Don't try to con me into believing you're satisfied with the way things are."

"That's not the point!" Ryoga cried, but inwardly he could feel himself wavering, "It's against everything the ATC stands for. You're sworn to uphold the law, the same as me, and if we go back to any of the timelines that even slightly approximate our own history..."

"We'll what?" Ranma asked flatly, "We'll change history...our History? Like with the Butterfly effect? Chaos Effect, the result of two bodies of similar temporal signature interacting simultaneously, creating instability and possibly even disrupting our part of the Timestream?"

"Exactly!" Ryoga stated.

"And that would be bad because...?" Ranma allowed the point to linger a moment before adding, "Your point being?"

Ryoga chewed his lower lip and looked away, his grip on Ranma's hand relaxing by a fraction.

"She's waiting for you, you know," Ranma softly persisted, "You may be happy with Akari, but in your heart you know what you really want, P-chan."

"Shut up, Ranma," Ryoga said without heat as he took his hand away from Ranma's.

Ranma smiled before adjusting the stick-shift, then revved up the accelerator to ninety million joules of current, placed his foot on the pedal and said, "Next stop, Nerima, our time."

"There go our pensions," Ryoga murmured, one second before the car shot ahead, achieving one hundred forty kilometers per hour as concentric circles of light formed a corridor before them, and suddenly they vanished from sight in a blazing burst of Temporal fire...

Not precisely at that same moment, but in another part of the Timestream, Tendo Nabiki saw the monitor light flash and grimaces slightly before saying to herself, "That idiot...he's really gone and done it this time..."

She turned away in her chair, tracking the movement of the Delorean as it wended its way back to Nerima in the closing years of the late 20th century. She idly noted that the car automatically shifted to chameleon mode so that at its arrival it come out appearing on the outside to be a car relative to the styles of that era, even if its interior was like nothing else from that space sector. She then checked the coordinates for the grid and confirmed that it was indeed a close match to that of their original home Timeline. The date was a year ahead of the tragedy, but only a week away from the impending marriage.

There was no doubt at all in Nabiki's mind that this added up to a very bad combination.

She quickly locked down the transfer codes then deleted the file and programmed in a new set of transfer orders. The forgery would no doubt be discovered in time and traced back to her station, but by then she would have had time to do what was necessary and quite possibly save the life of that idiot, Ranma.

Once she was ready she called up the Central Office and said, "Dispatch Coordinator Tendo Nabiki of Station 27 requesting an immediate leave of absence to deal with a personal crisis of C-11 Priority nature. Further request Agent Hitori be assigned to monitor Station 27 in my absence. Comply?"

"Request Denied," came the automated reply, "Agent Tendo Nabiki is familiar with the regulations dealing with emergency leave requests and..."

"Override!" Nabiki called out, "Security Code Delta-159-Sigma-Alpha, Comply!"

"One moment," the Central Relay computer replied, pausing for a moment before saying, "Priority acknowledged. Request for leave approved, Agent Hitori being recalled to station."

There was a slight hiss behind her, then Nabiki looked up to see her friend, co-  
worker and understudy standing there with a pleasant expression, if just a hint of annoyance in her tone as she asked, "What's up, Nabiki-chan? You caught me wind-surfing off the Bahamas..."

"No time to explain," Nabiki said as she rose up from her console, "Just take over, and I'll make it up to you somehow when I get back."

"I'll bet it has something to do with Saotome," Hitori chimed, "Your boyfriend's got himself in trouble again?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Nabiki growled as she headed for the transfer tube, "And you can mind your own business."

"Sure," her friend said smugly, "Whatever you say. After all, you're the ice-  
queen. If mister Tall Dark and Gloomy gets his ass in a sling it's none of your business either, right?"

Nabiki made sure her friend could see the finger she extended in her direction right before she faded out, her destination as inevitable as the clash of wills that would shortly follow on her arrival...

2.

Reality #37944326

Roll Call:

Spring Saotome -16, eldest daughter of Ranma and Shampoo from Continuum #30197682 Watazashi Saotome -16, only daughter of Ranma and Kodachi from Continuum #29457180 Ryokoma Saotome -16, oldest son of Ranma and Ukyo from Continuum #59343921 Yinra Saotome -16, Twin daughter of Ranma &amp; Akane from Continuum #472193567 Akira Hibiki -16, Future son of Spring and Godai Hibiki.

Spring groaned to herself as she felt a throbbing to her temples. She was not sure what had just happened, she only knew that someone's little boy was due for a good spanking! Her last conscious thoughts were of being surrounded by a crowd of people pressing her in from all sides, and then reality had inverted for the fourth straight time in one day and it was beginning to really aggravate her nerves, this jumping around from one reality to the next...

Her eyes flew open as the realization hit her that she had jumped between worlds once again, only this time she was the one who was holding the pendant. She lifted her hand so that she could see it more clearly, an odd metal object dangling from a silver chain that appeared so innocuous but contained the power to cross dimensions and even span the corridors of time. She could feel the power radiating against the palm of her hand and could see how the aura it radiated seemed to transcend the normal boundaries that had applied to those artifacts that Spring had observed in her great, great grandmother's collection. It was as if the object were like a keyhole covering the gateway to all dimensions, a mere physical adjunct to a much greater power that it only represented. It...

Spring's reverie was interrupted by the sounds of profuse groaning all around her. She clenched her fist again and looked around, surprised to see that she was not alone in the clearing and that four other people were currently beside her in various prone positions, regaining consciousness at the same rate that she had. She slowly sat up and took stock of these strangers whom she had only briefly encountered in the yard of someone's house. Each one was a puzzle for her, beginning with the boy who claimed to be her son from many years forward in her future.

Hibiki Akira was the name he had given her, son of some man named Godai whom Spring had never even met or heard about before this day. He had short-cropped purple hair, which clearly affirmed that he was somehow related to her, but aside from giving the impression of generally being a nice guy he did appear to be rather clueless and prone to impulsive behavior that bordered on real negligence. He also claimed that he had a mission involving her parents, but exactly what the truth behind that was he so far had not yet divulged anything of importance.

"Ohhh..." the boy was saying just then, "That was a rough one...what happened?"

"A very good question," replied the dark haired Watazashi Saotome, whom Spring remembered was the daughter of a woman with a very odd laugh named Kuno Kodachi, "I trust someone here has a reasonable answer?"

"Not quite," groaned the handsome boy named Ryokoma Saotome, "I was kind of hoping one of you girls might have a few suggestions."

"Honestly, Yangra," said the dark haired girl named Yinra Saotome, "Sometimes you can be so clueless..."

"Excuse me?" Ryokoma asked, "What did you just call me?"

"Knock it off, Bro, I..." the girl paused, looked at the boy and said, "Wait a minute, you're not Yangra..."

"Brilliant deduction," said Watazashi as she, too, sat upright and looked around, then her expression took on a look almost of panic as she cried, "Yuan-  
yen? Yuan! Where are you Yuan-chan?"

"Not here, obviously," Spring stood up very slowly, feeling the world begin to revolve a little less dramatically as she slowly took in her bearings, then with a gasp she cried, "We're in China!"

"Are you sure?" Ryokoma asked, looking around as if seeking his own confirmation.

"I grew up in these hills," Spring emphatically declared, "I know my own homeland and this is definitely China."

"By that I take it that you mean the Qing Hi province where the village of the Joketsuzoku Amazons is said to be located?" asked Watazashi.

"My homeland," Spring affirmed, taking stock of her four companions with a careful scrutiny before saying, "Somehow you four were drawn here with me when I wanted to simply go home by myself."

"I remember," Yinra frowned, "You had that thing the boy here was using to teleport, only how come we got sucked in with you? We weren't even standing right next to you..."

"That's right," Watazashi suddenly gave Spring a hard look, "You have the talisman that brought us here. You can take us back."

"Uh..." Spring hesitated, looking at the pendant before cautiously taking notice of the other girl's aggressive stance, "Right...about that. I'd like to...but I don't know how to us it. The jump was pretty random and I don't know the area of Japan well enough to guess where we might wind up..."

"You could try," Ryokoma said with obvious insistence.

"Take me back to my home this minute!" Yinra demanded.

"Please, Mother," Akira pleaded, "I have to be allowed to complete my mission..."

"Would you all just shut up!" Spring shouted, "In the first place I don't know how to use this thing!"

"Then perhaps you might care to allow someone else to try," Watazashi said as she assumed a fighting posture, "Would you care to surrender it or must I insist? I warn you, as heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics I would be well within my rights to force the issue."

"Uh..." Ryokoma hesitated, "That isn't really necessary, is it? I mean...we're kind of like family here...or something."

"That's right," Yinra paused to consider, "If we all come from different dimensions then that sort-of does makes us like family, which is why you remind me so much of my brother."

"If she's family then she won't mind demonstrating her qualifications for that honor," Watazashi said, "What say you...sister?"

Spring glared at the dark haired girl, nostrils flaring as she made a point of slipping the pendant chain around her head then taking a defensive posture as she stated flatly, "I am Spring Saotome of the Anything Goes school of martial arts, Outsider Girl, and I never refuse a challenge, not even from a 'Sister.'"

"Um...guys?" Ryokoma began to say when his attention was drawn to one side.

"Uh oh," Yinra agreed, "You might want to postpone this for a bit...I think we got company."

"Eh?" Akira turned to see what had gotten their attention, then in a hesitant voice he said, "Mom...are these friends of yours?"

Spring kept one eye on Watazashi while turning her attention to see the approaching patrol, then she relaxed by a fraction and said, "Oh, there's no problem, those are my people."

"Indeed?" Watazashi relaxed her stance and took careful notice of the dozen-or-  
so armed strangers coming into the clearing, most of whom appeared to be female, "More Amazons, I take it?"

"Who were you expecting, warriors of the Musk Dynasty?" Spring replied before turning her attention to one of the leaders of the group and calling out, "Nihao!" with a Warrior's salute to the party.

To her astonishment the lead warriors flashed their weapons and assumed threatening postures as the leader she had called out to cried, "Stand your ground, Outlanders!" in clearly articulated Japanese.

"Cloud?" Spring blinked, "What's wrong, it's me...?"

"Who are you?" that warrior with the silver-grey hair called in a tone of challenge, "How do you know my name?"

"Cloud?" Spring was doubly surprised, "It's me, Spring! Don't you remember?"

"Spring?" the older warrior replied, "I don't know of any Amazon by that name. Where do you hail from? What tribe and which village?"

"What tribe?" Spring began, "But..."

"Apparently they do not know you," Watazashi murmured, "It seems we are not quite in your real homeland after all. Allow me to try my own efforts. Nihao to you, my name is Saotome Watazashi..."

"Saotome?" the gray warrior frowned in clear recognition, then turned to one side and asked, "Do you have any idea who this is, Storm? She claims your clan name..."

"No idea at all," said a purple haired warrior who strode out from the midst of his fellows, giving Watazashi a careful scrutiny before turning his full attention towards Spring, "But she looks a little like my younger sister, Lightning, so perhaps we are related, if only by haircolor."

"Who are you?" asked Ryokoma of the other boy, who looked very much like a male version of Spring more than he did Akira.

"I might ask you the same thing," the purple haired boy replied calmly, "You remind me a little of a good friend of mine. What do you say, Godai?"

Spring gasped, hearing the name that Akira had claimed for his father and watching as a black haired boy stepped forwards to join the purple haired one in their mutual scrutiny of Ryokoma, then she heard him say softly, "There is a resemblance to Towel, but I wouldn't be willing to bet money on it."

"You're just saying that because Incense isn't here to take your wager," the purple haired boy teased, then in his relaxed tone he said, "I am Storm and this is Godai. You claim to be of my family name of Saotome?"

"Um," Yinra spoke up, "We all do...except maybe him. He's a Hibiki..."

"Hibiki?" Godai gave the purple haired boy an odd look.

"Father?" Akira took a hesitant step forward, then froze when one of the Amazons flashed a spear in his direction.

"Father?" Godai asked, exchanging looks with his companion.

"This gets more interesting by the moment," Storm turned to the silver haired leader of their party, "I would ask that we take them to see the Elders. They alone have the wisdom to sort out these matters."

"You're probably right," Cloud nodded, turning to Spring and the others, "You won't give us any trouble, will you? We promise you no harm if you agree to follow us to our village."

Spring and the others exchanged looks, then by mutual consent everyone turned to Watazashi, who returned the scrutiny with a frown before straightening up and saying, "I am only concerned with being returned to my own world and the people whom I care for. Anything else is of secondary importance. However...I see no point in making a fuss and will kindly accept your offer of safe conduct, provided I be allowed to speak with someone who might know how to return me and these others."

"That will be up to the Matriarch," Cloud replied, waving her hand to the others as the party formed up into traveling formation with a clear space indicating where their "guests" were to be accommodated.

Spring already knew the drill for her own time patrolling the border of Amazon territory, so with no more than another glance at the rest of her party she fell into line, taking care to position herself as close as she could manage to the mysterious Godai Hibiki...

3.

Reality #29715382

Roll Call:

Rinse Saotome-17, Eldest daughter of Ranma and Shampoo from Continuum #472193567 Yangra Saotome-16, Twin brother to Yinra, son of Ranma and Akane from Continuum #472193567 Fragrance Kuonji-16, Fusion-born daughter of Perfume and Ukyo from Continuum #59343921 Yuan-Yen Tendo-16, Daughter of Mousse and Nabiki from Continuum #29457180 Belldandy Tofu-16, Daughter of Ono Tofu and Kasumi from Continuum #472193567

The first words Rinse recognized that had not echoed within her own head was a familiar-sounding voice growling softly, "Just wait until I get their number...I'm gonna sue somebody for this!"

"Oh my," a much gentler voice that she had no trouble recognizing said, "Did we go to sleep for some reason? The dojo garden looks so deserted..."

"What's that, Bell-chan?" asked another voice that sounded like Yangra, her little brother, who sat up to say, "Hey, you're right! Where did everybody else go? And why is it so chilly all of a sudden?"

"You're asking me?" the gentle-voiced girl replied before taking notice that the girl beside her was chattering her teeth and hugging herself tightly, "Are you cold?"

"Naw!" snapped Yuan-yen, who was only wearing (if the term could be used loosely) a mega-thin throng bikini, "What was your first clue?"

"Looks like it got cold all of a sudden," Rinse said as she gradually sat up to look around at the empty yard, "Strange that nobody brought us inside, or left blankets for us to keep warm with."

"Hey," Yangra took notice of the one member of their group who appeared to still be unconscious, and he moved to examine the motionless girl wearing Amazon clothing.

His hand was just inches away when Fragrance moved to seize him by the wrist and hiss, "You don't touch without permission."

"Huh?" Yangra asked, trying to free himself from the iron grip of the girl, and failing badly, "Let go! I didn't mean you any harm."

Fragrance let go then sat upright with her eyes glancing at their surroundings without moving her head by more than a fraction. She sniffed the air a moment then said, "This is wrong...we're not where we should be."

"Huh?" Rinse asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that this is not the same yard that we were in a few moments ago," the brown haired girl said as she slowly got to her feet and did a slow pivot, "The smell is wrong, there are little things out of place, and more structural damage to the yard than I remember. This isn't my parent's dojo either, it just looks the same on the outside, but I can tell that it's not the same, and I can't pick up the scent of my own mother and Fama."

"Your what?" Yangra asked.

"Father-mother," Fragrance explained, "I call her my Fama."

"Don't you mean your Father?" Yuan-yen asked past chattering teeth as she got to her feet and began dancing to generate body heat.

"I don't really have one of those," Fragrance replied, "Technically my father is Ranma Saotome, but he's not really my Dad, more like my step-father. Oh...you're cold...I can help you with that."

"W-What do you mean?" Yuan-yen asked as the brown haired girl approached her, then stepped around behind her as she moved her hands to either side of the other girl, then began moving them very fast, circulating air around Yuan-yen that caused her to gasp with incredulous relief a moment later.

"There," Fragrance said as she stepped away, "That should help for a few moments. I supercharged your aura so that your body will generate more heat for the next several minutes, which ought to be enough time to get you someplace warm, or maybe warmer clothing, not that I'm complaining about the view, mind you."

"Thanks," Yuan-yen smiled as she stretched herself out, then caught the way the other girl was eyeing her and said, "I think."

"Nice trick," Rinse complimented, "Who taught you to do that?"

"My Fama," Fragrance replied, "And she learned it from my great, great grandmother..."

"Here we go again," Yangra snorted, "This talk about other worlds is giving me a headache."

"But it does make sense after a fashion, Cousin," Belldandy noted, "She may not look like anyone we know but it's obvious that she has had Amazon training. I wonder if..."

"HEY!" a voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention towards an angry looking redhead, "Who are you guys, and what are you doing in my yard?"

"Your yard?" Rinse replied without thinking, "I might ask you the same question."

"I live here!" the redhead fumed, taking an aggressive step forwards, "Now tell me who you are before I throw you out myself!"

"You and what army, Red?" Fragrance sniffed in dismissal of the threat.

"Hold on," Yangra called out, "Um...look, I'm sorry...this was obviously a mistake. We were looking for this place we were told was the Tendo Dojo, and the sign outside the yard..."

"What do you think, I was born yesterday or something?" the Redhead snorted, "You guys look like a bunch of Amazons, except for you-kinda late in the season to go running around in a bikini, sister."

"Tell me about it," Yuan-yen grumbled.

"Excuse me for asking," Rinse spoke up, "But would you mind telling us who you are? It might help if we all gave our names then explained what we're doing here..."

"I don't have to tell you nothing!" the girl fumed, "Just get out of my yard this...!"

"What's this?" a familiar voice asked, "What's going on out here? What's all the fuss?"

"Nothing to worry about, Grampa," the redheaded girl called out, "I'm just dealing with some prowlers..."

"Oh my," Belldandy spoke up, "That does sound like grandfather."

"Let me see," said a man who came out onto the porch, leaning heavily on a cane as he came into full view, the familiar face and form of Soun Tendo being more hunched and measured in his step, his temples grayed around the edges as he smiled and said, "Well...how nice to greet a group of young people your own age, Ranko. Why don't you invite them in and we can become better acquainted."

"But Grandpa..." the one named Ranko started to say, then sighed, "All right, they can come in...just so long as they behave themselves," she glared at the strangers with special meaning.

"Grandpa?" Rinse asked, exchanging looks with her companions before sighing, "All right, I guess we do need to sit down for a few moments."

"Ah...can I borrow something it's not too much trouble?" Yuan-yen asked, "I-uh-  
kinda left home without my stuff..."

"Don't push it," the redhead replied, then turned about and stormed her way back into the house, leaving the aged Soun Tendo to smile apologetically as he waved for them to follow...

4.

Reality #59342718

Roll Call:

Lylac Tendo-17, Oldest daughter of Nabiki and Shampoo from Continuum #59343921 Tachi Kuno-16, Daughter of Tatewaki Kuno and Nabiki from Continuum #472193567 Razor Hibiki-16, Son of Ryoga Hibiki and Shampoo from Continuum #29457180 Ryoukio Hibiki-16, Son of Ryoga Hibiki and Ukyo from Continuum #472193567

"Okay," Lylac said to herself, "That was a wild ride. Anybody here besides me?"

"That depends," Tachi Kuno replied, "On where 'here' is and how you define it."

"Let me see," said Razor as he lurched to his feet, inadvertently bumping into a table as he stumbled around in the semi-darkness, cursing at his own clumsiness.

"Take it easy," said Ryoukio, "Let me find a light switch then we can see where we are. This place looks kind of familiar, in fact I'd almost swear it looks a little like..."

"Hello?" a voice called out, "Who's down there?"

A light switch was flicked, causing everyone to turn at once, seeing the interior of a restaurant that they were in and the stairway in the back that was currently occupied by a purple haired girl wearing a nightgown and a dark haired boy wearing Chinese-style clothing.

"Uh oh," Tachi said, straightening up with arms extended to show their non-  
threatening status, "Busted."

"I'm sorry," Lylac called out before the boy and girl could ask any questions, "This was all a mistake. We didn't mean to wind up here...in fact, we're not really sure where here is, or how we got here for that matter."

"This place..." Ryoukio looked up, "It looks a little like the Nekohanten, but it's not my parent's place either...so where is this?"

The boy and girl exchanged looks, then continued their descent down the stairs, the boy taking the lead as he said, "You guys aren't from around here, and you don't look like you're about to rob the place either. The hair color looks kind of familiar..."

"I should say so," said the girl, "They look a little like my mother."

"Your mother," Lylac quickly seized on the word, "It wouldn't happen to be Shampoo of the Joketsuzoku, would it?"

"Why yes," replied the girl, whose tone sounded more than a little like Belldandy, "I'm Tendo Kimiko, Shampoo is my mother."

"What a coincidence," Lylac mused, giving the other girl a curious lookover, "And who's your father?"

Before the girl could reply the boy frowned and said, "Before we answer that, mind telling us who the hell you people are? It's a little late in the evening to be paying us a social visit, Sugar."

"My name is Lylac," Lylac replied, glancing to the others with an uncertain pause before saying, "Her name is Tachi, that's Razor, and the guy is Ryoukio, I think..."

"Hibiki Ryoukio," Ryoukio added with special emphasis.

"Huh?" said Razor in surprise, "You mean we have the same Dad? But..."

"Hibiki," the boy sniffed, "That figures. You two must be cousins with Kaori, she never could find her way into anything but trouble. My name is Saotome Okami, and Kim here is my iinazuke."

"Is that a fact?" Lylac smiled, giving the boy an approving study, "Your father is Saotome Ranma, am I right?"

"Good guess," the boy frowned, "You know my Pop?"

"Ah...kind of," Lylac hesitated, "And who is your mother?"

"Saotome Ukyo," the boy replied, then took note of the way Ryoukio's mouth fell open.

"My...father goes by the name of Tendo Kaneda," Kimiko began when she caught the smile on the face of Lylac, "Do you know him?"

"I was just thinking about what a small Universe it must be," Lylac mused, "Or several of them. My...father also goes by the Pseudonym of Kaneda, but that isn't his real name. I suspect we have a lot of other things in common, Cousin. Perhaps if you allow us to stay a while we can tell you an interesting story that might even amuse you."

"Only if it's a good one," Okami frowned, "But if I don't like what I hear you'll find out that the door isn't the only exit we use for trespassers."

Kimiko just smiled at her iinazuke then said, "I'll make some tea for everyone. Perhaps you'd like to make a few of your world famous Okonomiyaki, Okami-chan? I'm sure whatever they have to share with us will make us all hungry before breakfast."

"We wouldn't want to put you to any trouble," Tachi assured.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Kimiko said with an easy atmosphere and calming voice that once again made everyone but Razor think of Belldandy.

Tachi exchanged significant looks with Lylac then said, "You don't suppose her 'father' was somebody other than your 'Fama', do you?"

"Could be," Lylac said in a thoughtful tone, "And I don't mind telling you I find the idea more than just a little bit scary..."

5.

Reality #60429381

Roll Call

Shamran Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Shampoo from Continuum #59343921 Takane Kuno-16, Son of Tatewaki Kuno and Akane from Continuum #29457180 Brand Kuno-17, Son of Mousse and Kurumi from Continuum #472193567 Ivory Kuno-16, Daughter of Mousse and Kodachi from Continuum #472193567

Shamran took a careful inventory before deciding that all parts were in fact connected and that her head was not the size of a gong before carefully sitting up to find herself sitting on the streets of Nerima. In point of fact it looked rather a lot like the place where she had begun the whole adventure a half-hour ago, by her reckoning. She sighed to herself then said, "I guess that was all some kind of weird dream experience or something..."

"Guess again, fair one," replied Takane as he fought to rise to a kneeling posture.

Shamran turned in dismay to see two boys and one of the girls from her strange nightmare were also laying in the road looking rather much like they had been dropped there by a passing cyclone. Even as she looked the boy named Brand and the girl named Ivory were also making a recovery and slowly taking stock of their situation.

"Oboy," she said, "If you guys are here, then where are my sisters and brother?"

"I can't answer that one, but it's obvious that they are not here, wherever here is," Brand replied, clearing his vision with a shake of his head he turned and said, "How are you fairing, sister?"

"Like I am seriously contemplating what form of extreme punishment to visit upon the malefactors who brought me here," Ivory replied, slowly sitting upright, "I take it that no one here has possession of the magical device that brought us to this situation?"

"Maybe not," Shamran looked suddenly alert, "But it sure doesn't look like home! Take a look at that!"

"Eh?" Takane said as he started to rise to his feet, offering a hand to Shamran, who only reluctantly accepted the gesture, "What in the world...?"

"Hurry up, you two!" a boy with purple hair was calling out while running along the top of the guard rail overlooking the storm drain, "We're gonna be late again!"

"Keep your shirt on, Bro!" said a girl with short-cropped black hair following close upon his heels, "We'll make it if you don't block the way!"

"Hold up, guys!" cried the third figure in the racing column, another girl with dark blue hair who caught sight of Shamran and the others, "Check out the Newbies."

"Huh?" the boy came to an abrupt halt, the girl behind him just barely stopping herself in time to avoid a collision, "Hey, who are you people?"

"What are you...hello?" the dark haired girl blinked, catching sight of Shamran's haircolor.

"Ah...Nihao," Shamran said lamely, "You guys look like you're on your way to class. Mind if we tag along?"

"No problem with us," the girl with Indigo colored hair said, pointing at the others, "I'm Twilight, these are my older brother and sister, Yatai and Jonma of clan Saotome..."

"Really?" said Shamran matter of factly, "Why am I not surprised? Got room for one more on that fence?"

"Uh...sure," said Yatai, "No problem, but..."

"Then I'll race you to school," Shamran smiled, jumping up in front of the boy and taking off at a dead run, "The name's Shamran, and if you can catch me I'll tell you the rest, handsome!"

"Handsome?" Yatai groaned to himself, "That's all I need, another suitor..."

Jonma swatted her brother on the back and said, "So what are you waiting for, Slowpoke? You want her to beat us?"

"You guys coming?" Twilight asked the others.

Takane exchanged looks with his Cross-Paratime cousins then said, "We'll walk if it's all the same to you." He paused before adding, "Extraordinary. And I thought Watazashi was a tad on the eccentric..."

To Be Continued.

Comments/Criticisms/Continuity Glitches: shadowmane

The plot continues to thicken, be here for the next confusing chapter!

If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: . or it's mirror site at: ~ All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.


	4. Chapter 4

RanBite3

Realities Byte

By Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; the Converging Series, with further thanks given to my fellow writers whose own takes on The Altered Destinies series contributed greatly to the ideas contained in the Universes explored here)

Chapter Three.

Reality #24968173

Ranma checked the coordinates again to be certain, then ran a test again to be doubly certain, using his own template for confirmation. The approximation was a close one, close enough to be exactly the thing that he was after. He nodded in grim satisfaction then got out of the car, joining Ryoga, who was leaning against the hood surveying their surroundings.

"Furinkan High School," Ryoga nodded at the familiar clock tower, which was visible from where they stood three blocks away, "Kami, there are so many memories tied up in that place. Where has all the time gone, Ranma? Seems like only yesterday we were getting in fights and facing down monsters who seemed to be coming out of the woodwork. Remember all the times we used to brawl? Sometimes I wonder what it was really all about..."

"Oh, I know what it was about," Ranma said as he came to lean against the car next to his old friend, "Two kids without a clue, both slugging it out to see which one of them was the tougher martial artist. Add to that some childhood rivalry, a little jealousy and competition for the attention of the ladies, your curse, my curse, and tons of misplaced resentment."

Ryoga eyed his companion with a sheepish expression, "Yeah, about that...you know I never really forgave you for knocking me into that spring, but I've kind of grown to accept it as a fact of my life, and if not for you I'd never have met Akari."

"You're giving me way too much credit, old buddy," Ranma replied, "You found her on your own, and it was just dumb luck she had a thing for pigs, so it figures she'd take after you big time. You had a better chance than with...Akane," Ranma swallowed and looked away.

Ryoga was alarmed at hearing Ranma mention Akane by name, something he very rarely did without great need. In fact the entire attitude his partner was displaying was one that worried Ryoga greatly, and without needing to be reminded he knew that Ranma bore close scrutiny to see that he did not do something they might all regret later.

"Uh...yeah," Ryoga winced a bit as he allowed himself to remember those chaotic times, "She never did find out the truth about me. I've always felt pretty bad about that, and I don't blame you for being upset all those times. I acted pretty irresponsibly, and I don't really forgive myself..."

"Ah, you worry too much, P-chan," Ranma teased, "Akane could be pretty clueless, it was me who was acting like a jerk all those times, getting jealous over you sleeping in her bed, as if it really meant something."

"It meant something to me," Ryoga sighed, "In the state I was in, the loneliness, the isolation...I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for those few moment. I hope it doesn't upset you to hear this, Ranma, but nestling in her arms...those were the only real moments of any peace I ever had in those days. I think it played a big part in helping me to get a grip on my life, on who I was, what I was doing, and in time...well, I even learned to put up with your bullying, Ranma."

Ryoga had expected to get a rise from his friend at the gentle teasing in his voice, but what Ranma said instead was, "Why should it upset me? I think you and Akane would have been good for each other, a lot more than I ever was."

Now Ryoga knew that something was wrong. He turned a questioning look towards his friend only to see Ranma sigh and lean back against the car, which had optically adjusted its exterior to resemble a vehicle from the late 20th century era.

"I've thought a lot about it," Ranma replied in a thoughtful voice, "And it turns out you were right, surprising as that may sound. I really was at fault for making Akane angry all those times. If she had been engaged to you instead of me...who knows? Couldn't have been any worse than things did turn out with us. Can you honestly tell me you haven't been thinking the same thing all these years?"

Ryoga turned to look away, his expression pained for more than just the memories of those dark times they both knew were best left forgotten. Their childhood-  
by contrast-had seemed like happy days of misspent youth where nothing bad ever happened. Even the inspired lunacy of their frequent quarrels had been concealing a brotherly affection that had slowly developed between two warriors who were almost equals.

"There's something else, Ryoga," Ranma said carefully, "Something I never said to you before. You've always been a good friend to me, old buddy. I want you to know that I appreciate you being there for me when I really needed it. Thank you."

"What do you...?" Ryoga started to say when he felt Ranma's hand squeeze his shoulder, cutting off the flow of blood and paralyzing his supercharged nervous system so that he lost consciousness within seconds.

"Eat your heart out, Mister Spock," Ranma murmured as he caught Ryoga's slumping form, then set him in the car on the passenger side before triggering the inboard Stealth controls on a time delay with a combination lock. As he shut the gull-wing hatch the car began to fade from view, becoming effectively invisible while surrounded by a proximity field that would warn the computer of any unwarranted approaches.

"Take it easy, old buddy," Ranma said as he turned away. Calculations showed that the intercession event was less than one hour into the future, so that left him time to do what had to be done before greeting their unauthorized Transients to this time period. He did not want Ryoga to be active or to interfere in Ranma's plans, not on this day of all days when there was still time for Ranma to avert the tragedy that had shadowed his existence.

If memory served right school would be getting out in a few minutes, and then a certain boy would be leaving by the third story window so as to avoid the crowds. A quick dash to meet up with Nabiki, and then she would be helping him to pick out the engagement ring that he was to present later in the day to Akane. Before that Ranma's younger self would stop by Ucchan's to give her the bad news while completely avoiding the Nekohanten.

But not this time, not if Ranma had anything to say in the matter. His past self had to be stopped, and there was no one in all of Nerima who could stop him from changing his destiny and bringing an end to his long nightmare. No one could be allowed to stop him, not when he was so close to fulfilling his lifelong ambition!

As he started out towards his planned route of ambush a figure detached itself from around a corner and nodded grimly. Ranma was behaving exactly as predicted, and now it was up to Nabiki to put a stop to things before history was changed dramatically forever...

2

Continuity #37944326

Roll Call:

Spring Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Shampoo from Continuity #30197682 Akira Hibiki-16, Son of Spring and Godai Hibiki from Continuity #30197684 Watazashi Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Kodachi from Continuity #29457180 Ryokoma Saotome -16, Son of Ranma and Ukyo from Continuity # 59343921 Yinra Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Akane from Continuity #472193567

Storm Saotome-17, Son of Ranma and Shampoo of this Reality.  
Lightning Saotome-15, Daughter of Ranma and Shampoo, Storm's younger sister.  
Godai Hibiki-17, Son of Ryoga and Akane from this Reality.  
Kaori Hibiki-15, Daughter of Ryoga and Akane from this Reality.  
Towel Kuonji-16, Son of Mousse and Ukyo from this Reality.  
Incense Tendo-16, Daughter of Perfume and Nabiki of this Reality.

Spring could not help noticing that her all-too-familiar village was on a full alert status, which was puzzling as there had not been any rumors of a war impending when she had left her home what felt like only one hour ago. Warriors were going about fully armed and the sentinels stood watch from all of the high places. The tension level was extreme, unlike anything that she had witnessed herself since the Amazons had signed their armistice with the Musk during a dark period of her own childhood. In point of fact her parents had been instrumental in forcing Prince Herb to the bargaining table.

This did not look quite like those times, if anything the tension level was much greater with seasoned warriors evidencing levels of fear unlike anything she could even imagine. The hostility and suspicious stares turned in the direction of their party said much about the peoples' level of readiness for battle and affirmed that they sincerely believed in the threat to their collective safety. This made her naturally wonder at what could possibly pose such a danger to the Amazons of Joketsuzoku.

She turned her mind back towards the strange behavior of the warrior named Cloud, a veteran of many long seasons who had a reputation for fearlessness on a level with her own mother. The senior warrior was not greeted with hails but challenged at the outskirts of the village. Cloud followed the ritual of greeting in its most formal sense as if to deviate in the slightest was to invite death from the hidden snipers. Spring could almost feel the notching of many arrows pointed in their direction and left herself at ease to catch or deflect any that were loosed at herself in particular. She noted with no little interest that some of her companions did the same, particularly Watazashi.

Once admitted past the gates she saw many familiar faces about the village in various stages of preparing for battle. The various ominousness of it all finally caused her to break her own silence and say, "What's wrong? Are we at war with the Musk again?"

It was the purple haired boy named Storm who answered with a somber, "No, the Musk are currently our allies in this struggle. They stand to lose as much as the Nyanichiczu if things go badly."

"You don't know?" the dark haired boy named Godai Hibiki asked, "I thought everyone in the province knew about the troubles that we've been having with the Provincial government..."

"Not another word," Cloud cut them off with a sharpness to her tone that was quite unlike the sage and patient veteran that Spring had grown up with, "It is for the Matriarch to decide what we can share with you and what is not for the ears of outsiders."

"That's all well and good for you," Watazashi said, "But we don't want to become involved in your local politics. Besides, I thought that China was a democracy now and pledged to respect the sovereign territorial claims of indigenous peoples."

"Where did you hear that?" Storm asked, "Has the news been so heavily censored since the breakup of the old Order that you outsiders only think our simple rural problems not worthy of your notice."

"I wouldn't say that," Ryokoma replied, "But the way I've heard it, China was so badly burned by its experiences in the occupation of Tibet that they pulled back to their primary borders and have been struggling to maintain their economy and desperate for foreign assistance."

"Interesting," Storm replied, "Only that's not what actually happened. The breakup of the Old Communist Order has been steady and ongoing and has resulted in the rise of Provincial warlords..."

"That is enough," Cloud snapped, turning to the boy with evident disapproval, "Are you challenging my authority, Male? Just because you are the grandson of the Matriarch..."

"You know me better than that, Cloud," Storm replied, "But open your eyes and see with your heart. These outsiders are not Provincial spies, some are not even dressed for the climate, most particularly this dark haired princess with the blue eyes and the lofty pretensions."

Watazashi glared at her cross-parallel time sibling and repressed her natural urge to say a few terse words on the subject. The mere fact that she was dressed in a thong bikini in the middle of a Chinese forested area did not even work into the equation of her thinking.

"Hmph," Cloud replied, then started forward again and before too long they arrived before a house that Spring knew very well as belonging to the Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku. She was very much surprised, therefore, when an oddly familiar looking man greeted them at the front door instead of the wizened form of her beloved great-great grandmother.

"I'm sorry," said a very tall man with long black hair and a mustache, "Soon-Li is out training the children. You can find her in the practice area if your business is urgent."

"Grandfather?" Yinra gasped, only to hear her voice echoed by Ryokoma before the two exchanged mutually annoyed glances.

"I'm sorry," the man frowned, "But do I know you?"

"Tendo-san," Watazashi remarked with more casual bearing, "What a surprise to find you here in this place..."

"Why should it be a surprise?" asked Soun Tendo, "This village is my home after all. You are from Japan, I take it? How fare the home islands?"

Spring saw her companions exchange astonished looks at these words, which only rivaled her own astonishment at hearing a foreign-sounding male occupy the same dwelling as her great-great grandmother. Before any of them were able to say anything about it, however, Godai spoke up and said, "Grandfather, these strangers seem to be confused about a number of things. This one is clearly an Amazon, but from no village that we know of, and as for her companions..."

"Hmm, yes I see," Soun took notice of Watazashi's lack of dress and said, "Young lady, such immodesty is unbecoming in these parts. We are not a holiday resort sponsoring tourism, after all, so I think it would be best if you don more appropriate clothing better suited to the climate."

Watazashi closed her mouth with some effort. It had been quite sometime that anyone had addressed her in such a manner who was not either a Sensei or a parent. This strange man's insufferable presumption was almost beyond her tolerance levels, but prudence forced her to stay her tongue lest she say something inappropriate that might earn reprisals from the locals.

"That can wait until later," Cloud said impatiently, then started forwards again, "Come, we must find the Matriarch. Someone else can fetch the foreign girl proper clothing while we attend to her judgement."

Spring gave a last glance towards the curious man as he stayed where he was looking back at her with a puzzled expression. There was something about him that made her question her own sanity, an element that did not fit into an already confusing puzzle that had already vexed her beyond her limits. In desperation she turned to Akira and said, "Who was that man?"

"I think that was Great Grandfather Tendo," Akira said with some surprise, "I almost didn't recognize him, it's been so long since Dad took me to visit his family dojo in Nerima."

"You know my Grandfather?" Godai turned to regard the purple haired boy.

"Uh...yeah," Akira seemed nervous as he regarded the other youth who appeared so much like his father, only younger than he could ever remember. Spring noticed this hesitation and turned her own questioning look in Godai's direction.

It was only a few minutes later that they came to the far edge of the town where a practice session was underway and many of the younger warriors of the village were hard at work demonstrating their combat techniques which ranged in ability from the simple to the extraordinary. There were sparring matches-both armed and unarmed-taking place all around them, and demonstrations of katas so complex that even Spring lifted an appreciative eyebrow. A few heads were turned their way but for the most part the youths continued practicing, a hundred strong, both male and female. It was clear that they were preparing themselves for a major battle, further evidence of impending troubles that gave Spring a cold chill down her spine and made even Watazashi look uneasy.

Senior warriors were moving about these youths offering criticism while taking notice of any slight flaw or imperfection in their performance. Above those were several more aloof instructors who seemed to constitute the warrior elite in this training, and above them all-standing atop a tall pole looking down at these proceedings-stood a solitary redhead who was scanning the group and took sudden interest in the new arrivals.

"Father!" Watazashi gasped before she could stifle the impulse.

The redhead vaulted down to where they were and seemed to take charge by her very presence. She was not very tall but had an air about her that suggested great authority, and when she addressed herself to Cloud the older warrior responded as if to an acknowledged superior, her Chinese flawless but for a certain accent that suggested that she was foreign.

"What have we here?" the redhead turned to give Spring a curious glance before eyeing each of the other members of her group in turn, unable to help noticing the general surprise on each and every expression.

"We are bringing these strangers to see the Matriarch," Cloud explained, indicating Spring as she added, "This one claims to be an Amazon, but she refuses to give the name of her clan except to say that she is a Saotome."

"Really?" the redhead replied, "You do look a lot like Lightning, but I'm afraid I have to agree with Cloud that you're definitely not from around here."

"Ah...no," Spring forced herself not to call the redhead 'Father,' as had Watazashi, "I'm afraid there's been some mistake. My...um...friends and I arrived here a short while ago because of a magical portal, only this is not the village that I remember, and the world seems very strange. Can you tell me where I can find my great-great...ah...I mean the Elder Cologne..."

"Cologne," the redhead frowned, "What was she to you?"

Spring tried to think of an answer that would not make her come across as insane when she caught the way the redhead spoke as if implying the past tense, which prompted her to say, "Was?"

"The Elder you name is no longer among us," Storm answered somberly, "She is with our ancestors now, we do not speak her name lest we disturb her spirit."

"Especially with outsiders," Cloud replied with a glare in the astonished Spring's direction.

The redhead raised a hand as if to warn Cloud off from doing more than a sharp reprimand. Her expression was neutral as she regarded Spring carefully then said, "You say you got here by magic? And where did you come from?"

"Somewhere else," Spring replied, very slowly recovering from the shock of learning that her beloved great-great grandmother was no longer among the living, "Actually...you might not believe this, but my home is Joketsuzoku. This is Akira, she calls herself Yinra, the male is Ryokoma and this...one who is barely even dressed calls herself Watazashi..."

"Saotome," Watazashi finished, giving the redhead full scrutiny before adding, "I...believe we are related, though I-too-am from somewhere else, a suburb of Tokyo, Japan called Nerima..."

There were several gasps, then one of their Amazon escort hissed, "Impossible! She must be lying!"

Watazashi glared at the one who had spoken and said, "I am Saotome Watazashi of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics! I do not lie, and anyone who dares accuse me of it must face my wrath!"

The Amazon started to take a step forwards when the redhead cried, "No! Stand your ground, Dancer, that is an order! At least wait until we hear the full story before any of you go around issuing a challenge, and you...I would be very careful about making that challenge towards an Amazon. You might wind up with a lifelong enemy if you win."

"Father..." Watazashi began to protest before she could rethink her words and thereby unwittingly compounded the situation.

"Father?" the redhead arched an eyebrow, "Do I look like a guy to you?"

"Dad," Yinra spoke up, "Don't play games with us, and why are you in your cursed form anyway? I thought you hated to go around being female."

The redhead shifted her attention towards the dark haired girl, "You know about my curse, huh? Yeah, that's starting to sound likely. I wasn't sure at first, but you guys definitely look out of place, so maybe you are on the level. Which one of you guys thinks I'm really your father?"

Everyone but Akira raised a hand, which brought surprised looks from Storm and Godai as well as every other Amazon present.

Spring decided to drop her neutrality pose and said, "You look like my father when he's in his cursed form. You are Saotome Ranma of the Anything Goes school, right? Well, where I come from I'm your daughter, Saotome Spring..."

"Let me guess," Ranma replied, "This is one of those alternate universe things, right? It's happened to me before, so I guess I'll take it for granted that you're not stupid enough to make something like that up."

"Father..." Storm began to say.

"Yeah, I know, Son," Ranma replied, "Let's sort this out with the Matriarch, shall we? She ain't here at the moment, but I can take you guys with me to see her. She's just gonna love this..."

Dismissing their escort, Ranma took charge of their party as she led the way beyond the South Gate of the village and out towards a heavily forested area a kilometer southwest off a side-trail into the wilderness. As they approached the next clearing the sounds of explosions could be heard, growing louder in intensity until they at last caught sight of the cause of such a commotion.

At first all their party could see was a purple haired blur racing about an obstacle course while a dark haired girl balanced on one leg atop an inverted log in a position of readiness as if expecting an attack at any moment. The attack came in the form of a flying woman, who threw invisible punches at the girl which never seemed to come close to connecting but were just the same furiously parried as the girl vaulted from the log to conduct a number of leaping kicks that vaulted her from one tree to the next, attempting to flank her aerial opponent.

The purple haired blur, on the other hand, was dodging flashes of lightning that kept striking near to her positions as she shifted about from one obstacle to the other, never standing still for longer than a second. Her opponent was a much taller woman with long purple hair who remained a set distance away from her fleet-footed target hurling what looked like balled lightning from the tips of her fingers.

There were others visible, such as a pair of figures further off who were exchanging weaponed attacks with weapons that resembled huge spatulas while a man in flowing white robes occasionally hurled chains and other weapons at the smaller of the two combatants. The sounds of furious battle echoed throughout the clearing with none of the antagonists seeming to be aware that they had an audience watching these exchanges.

That swiftly changed as Ranma smiled and cupped her hands about her lips before calling out over the tumult, "Hey, Soon-Li! I need to talk to you for a minute!"

All at once a wind kicked up and blew against everyone, causing Watazashi's self-control to momentarily be blunted by a shiver that escaped her, and then a new figure stood before them, tall with long brown hair regarding them all with a most unearthly expression.

"What is it, Ranma?" she asked, turning her gaze to read each newcomer in turn as if reading a book, "Who are these people?"

"They say they come from another dimension, Matriarch," Ranma replied somewhat formally before adding in a slight wince, "Most of 'em also claim that I'm their father. Think I should tell Shampoo that?"

"Not if you want to remain healthy," the woman smiled, then sized up Spring before adding, "Uncanny...you could almost be Lightning's twin if she were perhaps a year older..."

"Somebody mention my name?" a voice heralded the sudden appearance of a purple-  
haired blur, who resolved into a girl with long flowing hair done up in traditional Amazon Odangos. She took one look at Spring, then eyed Akira speculative and said, "Who's this?" in a way that implied a feminine interest.

"Um...hi," Akira said somewhat uneasily, as if not accustomed to dealing with females who expressed so strong an interest.

"Matriarch?" Spring said hesitantly.

"I have that honor," Soon Li replied, giving Spring her full, undivided attention, "How may I be of service to you and your companions?"

"Um...this may sound a bit odd, Ma'am," Akira began, "But we're not from this time...in fact..."

"We're from different worlds with different histories," Watazashi said, glaring at Akira as she added, "Snatched from our native spheres rather abruptly, as you can tell from the way I am currently attired in less than suitable apparel."

"Huh?" Ryokoma asked, giving his transdimensional sister a quick study that said as much about a delayed male reaction to the presence of a nubile and near-naked girl of approximately his own age.

"Different worlds, huh?" Ranma gave each one of the parties a curious scrutiny then said, "You don't all look like you share the same mother. Maybe you'd better tell us a little more about who you are and what sort of places you come from, beginning with your mothers."

"What's the matter, 'Dad,' can't you guess?" Yinra asked the redhead.

"Dad?" asked Lightning, looking from one unfamiliar face to the other.

"Um..." Ryokoma raised a hand and said, "About this 'Dad' business...my father's name is Ranma Saotome...but he doesn't look anything like that."

"Your father doesn't have a curse?" Spring asked him.

"Oh no," Ryokoma replied, "He didn't have the curse, Momma Nabiki does..."

"Nabiki?" said Ranma in dismay, shaking her head as she added, "Now that's very scary!"

"Your mother is my Aunt Nabiki?" Yinra said with rounded eyes.

"The mother of my own beloved Yuan-yen?" Watazashi asked with dismay.

"Oh no!" Ryokoma replied, "My biological mother is Ukyo Kuonji. They're both married to my Dad and...well...it gets complicated. You know, the Amazon rule where two or more warriors can agree to share the same husband?"

"I am aware of it, of course," Soon-Li said dryly, "It's rarely invoked these days, but there are many famous examples in Amazon history..."

"Hold on a minute here," Ranma said, giving Ryokoma a questioning look, "I'm married to both Ukyo and Nabiki?"

"Um, not exactly," Ryokoma shuffled his feet and looked nervous.

"But you just said they were," said Lightning, almost too quick for normal hearing.

"What I meant to say is that my Dad's married to Mom, Momma Nabiki, Momma Shampoo and Momma Perfume," Ryokoma said with a lame kind of smile as if pleading for understanding.

"Aunt Perfume?" Lightning gasped, turning to Storm as she asked, "Do you know what he's going on about, Big Brother?"

"I'm trying to follow this," Storm said uneasily, looking at the other boy as he asked, "You're saying you have FOUR mothers?"

"Most of the time," Ryokoma replied, "Only sometimes Momma Nabiki's a guy and goes by the name of Kaneda..."

"That's completely ludicrous!" Lightning all but exploded.

"Unorthodox to say the least," Watazashi agreed.

"I don't see why," Yinra sniffed, "My Dad's married to two women, both my Mom and Aunt Shampoo."

"And your mom is?" Ranma asked with a numb expression.

Yinra was starting to reply when she felt a wind being kicked up and turned a surprised look up at a descending figure, "Mom?"

"What's going on here?" asked Akane Tendo, whose fists were projecting gusts of wind that were cushioning her descent.

"That's what I'd like to know," said Shampoo as she appeared without preamble or warning.

"Mother?" Spring reacted without thinking.

"Hold it!" Watazashi spoke up even as the new arrivals responded to that surprising statement, "This is giving me a headache! Has everything gone completely mad? You all claim that Saotome Ranma is your father, but he is my father as well!"

"What?" Shampoo turned a crimson-eyed glare towards the redhead.

"Hey, it's not me!" Ranma protested in haste, "I didn't do nothing, honest!"

"A likely story," Akane growled.

"No, he means it, Mother," Godai suddenly spoke up, "According to them it wasn't the same Uncle Ranma."

"The same what?" asked a boy holding a huge spatula in both hands as he came trotting up alongside Ukyo Kuonji and Mousse, followed closely by the trio of Nabiki, Perfume and a brown haired girl with a sardonic expression.

"Fess, up, Sugar," Ukyo said with a wry look towards the flustered looking Ranma, "What did you pull this time, Ranchan?"

"But I..." the redhead flailed her arms about helplessly as if seeking for an answer, then she turned around in frustration and said, "Never mind...I'm going to get some hot water and change. All this talk is starting to give me a headache!"

"One moment, Ranma," Soon-Li turned to Lightning and said, "Be a dear and fetch some hot water for your father."

"Right," the purple haired girl replied, and then like a flash she moved in a blur, kicking up a wind as she accelerated to an unbelievable velocity.

"How did she do that?" Spring gasped.

"It's her specialty," replied Storm, "Little Sister has been training in the Storm Style, the same as me, only her talent is speed, while mine..." he smiled, extending a hand that suddenly glowed and crackled with electricity, "Is Power."

"Storm style also includes the Wind School," Akane replied, turning a curious look towards Yinra as she added, "Which I happen to have mastered. Do I know you? You seem...somehow familiar..."

Ryokoma found himself looking eye-to-eye at the boy with the spatula who studied him a moment before saying, "You look familiar, too. Have we met before? My name is Towel."

"Ryokoma," replied the astonished Ryokoma, swallowing before he added, "Your Dad wouldn't happen to be...?"

"That would be me, young man," Mousse replied, inclining his head as he glanced from one boy to the next then said, "It's uncanny...you look so much alike you could almost be brothers."

"I was just going to say the same thing," Ukyo turned to regard Ranma with a puzzled expression, to which he could only reply, "It's a long story."

"They usually are around you, Ranma," Akane teased in almost sisterly affection.

"Ah..." Akira suddenly drew attention back his way, "Look, about that explanation, it will have to wait. I'm on a mission of serious importance vital to the Amazons of my time. My village is under attack..."

"Your time?" Akane reacted, "What time is that?"

"2038," Akira replied, then he noticed the dead silence that had fallen all around him, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Let me guess," Nabiki spoke up, "He's a relative, isn't he?"

"How strange," murmured Perfume, who sniffed the air a little before adding, "They're all different, and yet they seem somehow very much alike."

"Alike how, Mom?" said the young girl beside her, who gave the newcomers a curiously speculative examination.

"I don't know," said Perfume, "Their scent carries a familiar element I can't quite identify, it's more like an instinct than anything that I can really nail down."

"I'll back you up on that, Per-chan," Nabiki replied, "I'm getting the same vibes here, like some really potent kind of magic is in play. You with me on this, Soon-Li?"

"I think it's a safe assumption that there is magic involved with their being here," the Matriarch replied, "Come, let us speak in the privacy of my house, where we can get your various stories sorted out. At the very least it ought to make interesting telling."

"That is putting it mildly at the least...Matriarch," Watazashi said with just the slightest hesitation.

"Uh," Ukyo frowned, "Excuse me for asking, Sugar, but who exactly was your Mom?"

"Why, Kuno Kodachi of course," Watazashi replied, then she frowned at the astonished looks turned her way, her cobalt blue eyes smoldering with annoyance, "What? Why does everyone act so surprised every time I mention my mother?"

"K-K-Kodachi?" Ranma stammered, then her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted.

Lightning suddenly appeared with a teapot in hand and said, "Here you are, father...father?"

"I'll take that, dear," Shampoo said as she gripped the handle of the pot and poured the contents over the redhead, restoring Ranma to male status within seconds.

"Gah!" Ranma sputtered, "Talk about your basic nightmares..."

"Nightmare?" Watazashi asked, suspecting already that she was not going to enjoy this particular story...

Continued.

(With apologies to Wade, whose "Most Unlikely of Friends" in no small part inspired this chapter)

Comments/Criticism/Continuity Glitches Unlimited: shadowmane

More confused than ever? Stick around, the party is only just getting started!

If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: . or it's mirror site at: ~ All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works. 


	5. Chapter 5

Ranbite4

Realities Byte

By Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others,  
including the Convergences series and my fellow Altered Destinies writers)

Part Four.

Revenge.

Reality # 24968173

"Wake up, Ryoga-chan, time to rise and shine!"

"W-What?" Ryoga started to full alertness, his battle senses causing him to tense until he was able to recognize that the one who was leaning over him, "N-  
Nabiki?"

"Glad to see I haven't lost my touch for rattling you men," Nabiki gave him one of her patented smirks that in no way conveyed amusement, only concern for his condition, "I need you awake and sober, Ryoga-kun. No sense sleeping on the job while Saotome is on the loose and looking for trouble."

"Ranma!" Ryoga sat up so fast he almost vaulted from the car as Nabiki stepped to one side to be out of his way, "He must have done something, drugged me or knocked me out..."

"My guess is one of Tofu's little numbers," Nabiki said as she folded her arms and assumed her typically sardonic expression, "They'd work even on someone with as advanced a metabolism as the both of you now possess. Looks like your partner didn't want you getting in the way of what he's planning, which is all the better reason to find him."

Ryoga glanced at his wrist-dial, then pressed a locator stud and was rewarded by seeing the finder arrow that told him where its twin could be located. He started to head off that way when Nabiki calmly placed a hand upon his shoulder.

"That's no good," she carefully informed him, "Ranma's too clever to leave you an opening like that. Besides, that arrow is pointed away from Furinkan, which is all the better reason for believing that Ranma wants to lead you on a wild goose chase."

"How can you be so certain he's going to Furinkan?" Ryoga asked, not willing to admit that he was slightly panicked by the idea that his chronometer would mislead him. He depended on it for so much to make up for his legendary bad sense of direction.

"Think about it," Nabiki replied, "Why did Ranma insist on coming here? What is the one thing he would have to gain by directly violating my orders? Let me phrase the question another way: Who does Ranma hate more than anything or anyone else in all the world, including his father?"

Ryoga paled, "You don't mean he might try to...?"

"I'm hoping that's not the case," Nabiki replied, "But at this point I wouldn't be surprised at anything Saotome tries to do. The question is what do we do about it?"

"I've got to stop him," Ryoga started off towards Furinkan once again, only to be halted once again by Nabiki's hand gripping his shoulder.

"And how do you plan to do that, pray tell?" she said in a way that was calculated to penetrate his impulsive reflexes, "The two of you could tear the whole city apart if you cut loose at full force. This isn't like when you were both still in High School and could get away with such antics. I do not want you creating even more of a disruption than what Ranma intends to do by himself."

"But he's going to kill him!" Ryoga started to say, then self-corrected, "Himself...I mean..."

"I don't think he means to go that far," Nabiki said in a thoughtful voice, "Ranma may be a lot of things, but even though he's clinically and maybe even maniacally depressed I don't believe he's actually suicidal. We have to use our brains on this one, Ryoga-kun, which in your case means you'd better let me do all the thinking."

Ryoga subsided, looking to her with a hopeful expression, "You've got a plan, don't you?"

"Not yet," Nabiki replied, "But I'm working on it. Just follow me and play along and I think we can still salvage this mess before things go from bad to irreversible. In fact, I think I know just whose help we can recruit if we're to save Saotome from himself...in more than one sense of the matter..."

2.

Reality #24968173

Roll Call:

Rinse Saotome-17, Daughter of Ranma and Shampoo from Continuum #472193567 Yangra Saotome-16, Son of Ranma and Akane from Continuum #472193567 Belldandy Tofu-16, Daughter of Ono Tofu and Kasumi from Continuum #472193567 Yuan-Yen Tendo-16, Daughter of Mousse and Nabiki Tendo from Continuum #29457180 Fragrance Kuonji-16, Daughter of Perfume and Ukyo Kuonji from Continuum #59343921

Ranko Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Akane, native to this Continuum.

Rinse and her companions sat in awkward silence while the somewhat surly Ranko served them their tea. Belldandy, of course, volunteered to help in the kitchen, which seemed to brighten up the aged Soun Tendo immensely, saying that she reminded him very much of his own beloved Kasumi.

"Oh my," Belldandy had quite naturally exclaimed, "I do hope that mother is all right. I left so suddenly I didn't even have time to tell her where I was going."

"You mean you're her daughter all grown up?" Soun had exclaimed, "How wonderful! It's been such a while since your mother has paid us a visit."

"Grampa," Ranko started to say, then hesitated before sighing, "Never mind."

Belldandy did not pick up on the pause and instead said, "I'm sure my mother has wanted to visit more often, Grandfather. She's always spoken well of you, and I know she cares a great deal for your welfare."

"Grandfather," the old man began weeping, "How I've longed to meet the child of my eldest daughter. You look just like your mother, I'll bet you even cook like her as well."

"As a matter of fact I do," Belldandy said brightly, "I'll be happy to prepare dinner for you if you permit me."

"Oh...that would be heavenly!" Soun proclaimed in evident delight, "Ranko, please show your cousin to the kitchen and let her assist you in making a meal worthy of her mother."

"She's not my..." Ranko started to say when Belldandy placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled in a way that seemed to defuse any argument or protest she might have made.

"It would be my pleasure to help you out, cousin," Belldandy said with her winning charm, "And we can get to know each other better while we're at it. Won't that be nice?"

"Oh yeah," Ranko growled, trying and failing to get angry in the face of Belldandy's calming charisma.

The others sat with mutually stunned expressions, Rinse feeling like her cousin had somehow taken charge of the situation and was turning it to her advantage. Yuan-yen was the first to recover, turning to look at the man who closely resembled her grandfather but somehow seemed much, much older and in failing health. She hesitated before beginning, but then she said, "So...you live here with your granddaughter. Are you all alone, or do you also live with her parents?"

"Her...parents?" Soun's cheerful expression began to sag and the tears started up anew as he sobbed aloud, "Akane...oh, my dear, sweet Akane..."

"Grandfa-" Yangra caught himself barely in time and hastily amended, "Uh...Tendo-san...we're so sorry to hear about your loss. We had no idea..."

"It's all right," the man seemed to recover his composure as he waved a hand then dabbed at his tears with his fingers, "Please forgive an old man...it's just...so hard sometimes to carry on the Anything Goes tradition."

Rinse was beginning to suspect something was very wrong about the entire situation that they were in. The house looked barely maintained, no where near as neat and orderly as what she grew up with. There was such an atmosphere of sorrow, of somberness and loss that she knew implicitly that the old man did live at home alone with his granddaughter.

"Sir," she said carefully to the man who looked indeed much like her beloved Grandfather Tendo, "You and your granddaughter live by yourselves? What of the Saotome School? Is Ranko all that's left of my fa-uh-of the Saotomes?"

"I'm surprised you don't already know," Soun replied, "You're an Amazon, are you not? You resemble Shampoo so much, but your hair is a bit darker..."

"I'm...half Amazon on my mother's side," Rinse replied, "I wasn't raised in the village, though I have been there several times. My father..."

"Let me guess," Soun smiled, "Your father is Mousse. He finally married Shampoo when you both went back to live in China."

"Uh..." Rinse hesitated, "Mousse..."

"You mean Ivory's...?" Yangra started to say when Yuan-yen interrupted him.

"Oh...Mousse..." the wiry brown-haired girl replied, "So he and Shampoo went back home to live in China, and you haven't seen any Amazons around here ever since, right?"

"Sir," Fragrance spoke up, "What of Kuonji Ukyo. Does she still maintain a business in this district?"

"Kuonji Ukyo," Soun said as if trying to dredge through memories, "I don't believe I know what happened to her. She moved from Tokyo to Kyoto some years ago and I haven't heard word about her since."

"And what about...your other daughter," Yuan-yen asked with a certain nervousness, then looked up with pleasant surprise as Belldandy appeared to hand her a steaming hot cup of tea that smelled rich in apple cider, "Oh, thank you!"

"Not at all," Belldandy said pleasantly, "I could see you were starting to get cold again. You really should put something warm on before you catch a serious chill."

"Thank you, Kasumi," Soun smiled, "You always were a thoughtful child, so kind and considerate to others."

Everyone in the room seemed to share a collective shudder, all save Belldandy herself, who lifted an eyebrow as she regarded this parallel to her grandfather and said quietly, "Um...thank you...father. I only do what I can to help out."

Ranko entered the room with such haste that it looked more as if she were racing to intercept a situation. Moving up to the side of the elder Tendo she said smoothly, "I think you've had enough excitement for now, Grandpa. It's time for your medication and your afternoon nap. We can play Shogi in a little while if you're up to it."

"Thank you, Ranma," the older man replied, "That's very thoughtful of you. Saotome must be very proud to have a son who tries to help out whenever he can. But I would like to stay, these young people have brought back so many pleasant memories...so many memories..." he sighed, his eyes drifting off to someplace in the distance.

Rinse looked at the man, his haunted, haggard face that seemed to reflect too little sleep and far too many unpleasant nights reliving memories that he spent the rest of his time trying to forget. That look hardened her resolve as she turned towards Ranko and said, "Can I speak with you for a moment, Ranko-san? I'd like to ask a few questions."

"Ah," Yuan-yen hastily intervened, "I believe my colleague would like to test your martial arts skills. You have been trained to become the heir to the Anything Goes tradition, correct? A little sparring match-nothing formal-no Amazon rules or anything like that, just a friendly test of your abilities with no one getting hurt...more than absolutely necessary."

Ranko's nostrils flared as she turned the heat of her glare on Rinse and said, "You got it, lady. Meet me in the dojo, we'll settle this between us."

Rinse lifted both eyebrows but rose to her feet smoothly and said, "If you think you can take me, be my guest. You're welcome to try."

"A Challenge Match," Soun brightened, "We haven't had one of those in a very long while. There is no finer test of a warrior's mettle than to pit themselves against a worthy opponent. I must see this for myself."

The man started to get up but it was plain that his legs lacked the strength to make the effort. Belldandy appeared at his side as if by magic while Yangra was on his feet just a little bit behind her to offer his own support. Ranko turned to glare at them when Soun thanked them both by saying, "You both are such helpful children. I can stand on my own two legs though. I'm not an invalid, I just tire a bit easier than I used to."

"Of course, Grandfather," Belldandy replied, steadying the old man's arm with surprising firmness, "Right this way, we'll see to it you get to where you need to go. You must be very excited, cousin Rinse is very skilled and is considered the best fighter of our generation."

"We'll see about that," Ranko snorted as she turned to leave the house, crossing the yard towards the dojo with Rinse following at a more leisurely pace.

Yuan-yen started to follow when Fragrance suddenly appeared by her side with a shawl that she had found somewhere, draping the woolen item around Yuan's shoulders to help her deal better with the cool weather. Yuan-yen gave the other girl a grateful smile then continued on towards the dojo while Fragrance favoring her with a sidelong scrutiny that took notice of the other girl's long legs and seemed to savor the rest of her quite feminine package.

Rinse wasted little time taking a place opposite to Ranko in the dojo while the others took positions at one side of the floor to witness this looming grudge match. Each girl took a moment stretching out and limbering up for the first minute, then they turned and assumed ready poses as Yuan-yen raised a hand and brought it down with a sharp, "Hajime!"

Ranko wasted little time rushing towards her opponent, who casually stepped to the side and swept her legs out from underneath her, but Ranko twisted in mid-  
tumble and counter-attacked with a backwards kick that almost took the taller girl by surprise but for Rinse's phenomenal reflexes. She dodged and whirled as Ranko easily alighted on her feet and came back at Rinse again, exchanging rapid kicks, punches and attacks with a speed and fluidity that defied the naked eye to follow.

Rinse rapidly estimated that the girl's strength and speed closely approximated her own, but that she had the advantage of reach with longer arms and legs to give her the ability to strike first and penetrate the other girl's guards with greater ease. Ranko proved resourceful just the same and could counter almost every one of her attacks before turning the energy behind them to her advantage. In the course of a few seconds the two combatants achieved a rough standoff.

"Not bad," Yangra said, "That Ranko is solid, almost as good as Oneechan."

"You must be very proud of your student, Tendo-san," Fragrance noted as she watched the match with professional interest, finding both antagonists equally worthy of study from more than just the angle of their combat potential.

"Oh, I didn't train her," Soun replied, "Though I have done what I can to judge her performance. It was the Master who taught Ranko her special moves when he took her with him on training missions."

"The Master?" Yuan-yen murmured, "You mean...Happosai is still around?"

"It figures," Yangra sighed, "Dad always said the old pervert wasn't human."

"Aiyaa," Fragrance said in alarm, her attention diverted from admiring the talent all around her, "He's not around here right now, is he?"

"The Master comes and goes as he pleases," Soun replied, "No one knows his whereabouts unless he wishes it. When he's here Ranko takes care of everything, and when he leaves with Ranko Mrs. Saotome comes to stay for a while to look after the place. I'm afraid that she can't abide living under the same roof as the Master, but Nodoka-san dearly loves to spend as much time as she can with her only grandchild. It's the nearest that she can come to spending time with...what's left of her family."

The four youths attending him all looked somewhat disquieted by that ominous statement, even Belldandy giving a sober look of appraisal as each teenager grew thoughtful for their own reasons.

Meanwhile the fight between Rinse and Ranko was escalating to new levels of intensity as each drew upon their more advanced techniques. The fight-while arguably never friendly to begin with-became more intense and personal as each antagonist went all out to prove themselves the better fighter.

Rinse had already taken her measure of her sparring partner and estimated her abilities to be closely parallel with her own, which was strange considering that she had only one teacher while Rinse herself had benefited from numerous teachers in various systems. Ranko fought tenaciously with skill and determination, and her range of abilities was quite extensive, which prompted Rinse to try testing her opponent with low-level Chi attacks just to see how Ranko would react. She formed an energy fist and sent it hurling towards her foe, catching Ranko momentarily by surprise, but the redhead reacted by blocking the fist with a palm-directed Chi defense that caught and absorbed the energy burst before Ranko vaulted backwards to put some distance between them.

Rinse pursued an aggressive assault, summoning her Chi for a higher level attack, but Ranko was one step ahead of her in summoning her power levels, so she got off the first burst, which Rinse only deflected by a last minute conversion of her attack into a shield. The force of the burst was enough to make her hair fly back as if from the static discharge but otherwise had no other effect, being well below the level of a full-powered Moko Takabisha.

"Uh oh," Yuan-yen said, "This doesn't look good. They're not backing down, if anything they're upping the stakes of this conflict."

"And that's bad?" Belldandy asked.

"You know Big Sis," Yangra replied, "She's too stubborn to give ground, especially if she's found an opponent who can fight almost as good as she can."

"Looks to me more like they're equal," Fragrance noted.

"Incredible," Soun remarked, "That Amazon is almost as good as Ranma himself. This reminds me so much of the old days..."

"Later, sir," Yuan-yen said, "I think we'd better call a halt to this before things get too far out of hand. Somebody might get hurt if they keep raising the ante with more powerful attacks."

"Oh my," Belldandy remarked, "Something appears to be happening. You don't suppose this fight has triggered some sort of delayed effect on the time dilation?"

"The what of what?" Yangra turned to look at his cousin, only to find his visual range of colors were becoming distorted as if something were out of adjustment.

"Uh oh," Fragrance looked down at herself, "Everything's becoming weird all of a sudden!"

"Huh?" Yuan-yen glanced at her own hand and said, "You're right! What the hell?"

Belldandy was about to tell the other girl to mind her language in front of their mutual grandfather when of a sudden they all became transparent, surrounded in a strange glow that made them all appear to be ghostly. Rinse hardly noticed as she and Ranko were exchanging aerial kicks and were already manifesting strong battle auras when they, too, began to wink out, and within a matter of seconds the dojo was empty.

"Ranko?" Soun asked as he looked around, "Nabiki? Kasumi? Where did you go? Where has everyone gone? Nabiki? Kasumi?"

"Hello?" a voice called out politely, "Are you there, Soun-san? I was knocking on the door just now but no one answered, so I came around to investigate and heard sounds coming from the dojo."

"Ranko..." Soun turned a desperate face to the new arrival, then relaxed by a fraction as he said, "Nodoka? Oh good...I'm so glad that it's you! Everyone just...vanished suddenly...as if into thin air! Where is Ranko? What happened to Nabiki and Kasumi?"

"Nabiki and Kasumi?" Nodoka's expression became pained for a moment, then she managed to restore her look of calm as she replied, "Why don't I take you back inside, Soun-chan? It's getting cold outside and it might rain very shortly. I'll make you some hot tea then you can tell me all about it."

"They were just here, I tell you!" Soun insisted, "I'm not going crazy!"

"I know," Nodoka helped him to his feet then fetched his cane and offered her shoulder to lean against, "Like I said...you can tell me all about it once we're inside. You can rely upon me, Soun-chan, I'm always here to help you, you know that."

"I know," the old man wept, "But...for a moment there...it was just like in the old days...oh to be young again when there were such possibilities..."

"Yes, I know," Nodoka replied, her still young face hiding ageless sorrow and wisdom as she took the man she cared for back to his ancestral house to work such healing calm as only she could these days upon his fractured and tormented spirit. She hoped that Ranko had not gone too far as she could use her granddaughter's assistance in tending to the elderly Tendo. The family had known too much tragedy over the years and the last thing that they needed was to add to Soun's grief as they sought to preserve what was left of both family and tradition...

3.

Continuum #59342718

Roll Call:

Lylac Tendo-17, Daughter of Nabiki and Shampoo from Continuum #59343921 Tachi Kuno-16, Daughter of Tatewaki Kuno and Nabiki from Continuum #472193567 Ryoukio Hibiki-16, Son of Ryoga Hibiki and Ukyo Kuonji from Continuum #472193567 Razor Hibiki-16, Son of Ryoga Hibiki and Shampoo from Continuum #29457180

Kimiko Tendo-16, Daughter of Kasumi and Shampoo from this Reality.  
Okami Saotome-16, Son of Ranma Saotome and Ukyo Kuonji of this Reality.

Lylac looked across the table at her counterpart with a strange sense of, "Therefore but for the grace of the Kami." The look was the same, the manners were the same, and in all other important respects it could well have been her own cousin Belldandy sharing tea with her and her unlikely companions, though Bell-chan had never gone in for purple hair and Amazon odangos.

Kimiko Tendo smiled back at her in a friendly enough manner, sipping from her cup as if it were an everyday occurrence to meet your alternate from another dimension.

"So," she was saying, "Where you come from your mother is Shampoo and your father is my Aunt Nabiki. Your...Fama did you call her? She's the best Martial Artist of her generation, just as you are the best of your generation."

"That's right," Lylac replied, "I take it, then, that the same applies to you?"

"Oh no," Kimiko smiled, leaning back with a pleasantly relaxed expression, "I'm good, but I have no problem conceding that Okami-chan is better. We've both trained very hard under our parents, but I've never felt the need to be the best in all Nerima, just the best that I can be, which is good enough for my standards."

Okami Saotome sniffed at that and said, "Kim-chan's being modest, as usual. Take my word for it, she is very good. I didn't exactly have an easy time winning her hand in marriage."

"My mother insisted upon the old traditions of an Amazon yielding to a man strong enough to defeat her in battle," Kimiko replied, "Of course my father...um...Fama...insisted that I be given a choice on whether or not to accept the engagement. I gave Okami-chan a good run just to be sure that he was as sincere in his intentions..."

"A good effort she says," Okami rolled his eyes, "If I didn't know better, Kim-  
chan, I'd have thought you were trying to kill me."

"You seem to be taking this whole thing in stride," Tachi remarked as she studied the couple before them, "I'd be freaking out myself. It's not exactly like people from an alternate universe drop in every day..."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Kimiko said with a bemused expression.

"I'm finding it hard to think that you're my half-brother," Ryoukio said to Okami, "I know my mom was at one time engaged to your father, but to think of her with anybody but my father..."

"Or my dad with anybody but mom," Razor added.

"All right," Lylac sighed, "So we're all finding it a little hard to adjust to the idea that we have similar parents but in very different combinations. I'm a little curious about the point where our two histories seem to have diverged, which appears to be the point where your father, Ranma Saotome, who is also my father by marriage, was exchanged as a boy with my/your Fama so that he could be raised in the Tendo household while either of our two parents spent ten years on a training mission. Up to that point we have convergence, beyond that we have radical deviation."

"That is rather surprising, now that you mention it," Kimiko replied, "I guess the question revolves around how our parents dealt with these circumstances, and the outcome of each choice led to the reality that each of us knows to be her present. I find it curious that the single common factor for both of us is our mother, Shampoo."

"Yes, I agree," Lylac said, "It seems that, no matter who went on that training mission, it always comes down to the encounter with Shampoo that resulted in their eventual marriage."

"Well," Ryoukio said with a slight shrug, "Way I hear it, Uncle Ranma did engage himself to Aunt Shampoo when he went to China, but it wasn't like they got hitched the same day. I don't even think Uncle Ranma even wanted to be with Aunt Shampoo until they'd both known each other a couple of years, only after they'd gotten to know each other a lot better did he even take that Amazon law thing seriously. I've only heard stories about the way he cut a deal with Grandma Cologne so he could marry both Shampoo and Aunt Akane..."

"What?" Razor said in obvious confusion, "No way! Mom would never agree to share herself with another woman! She's nothing like that...!"

"Calm down, Junior," Tachi turned to Ryoukio and said, "It figures you'd tell it wrong, Ryo-chan. The fact is that four women were chasing Uncle Ranma up until he made the deal that eliminated two of them from the running, including your mother. Aunt Kodachi wasn't even on the short list back then, so when she got engaged to Mousse it came as a surprise to just about everybody. Of course that was after she finally faced up to the fact that Uncle Ranma didn't love her."

"So you two come from the same reality," Okami nodded to both Tachi and Ryoukio.

"You got it," Tachi smiled, "To continue my point, the story our elders tell us has it that one day Aunt Shampoo got herself in trouble with her great grandmother and needed Ranma to bail her out, after which he offered to help her get her life back in order, which didn't sit too well with Aunt Akane. Fact is Uncle Ranma even got himself thrown out of the house one time because he wouldn't abandon Shampoo, even over grandfather Tendo's strong opposition. The whole thing came to a head when Akane herself volunteered to relinquish her claims on Ranma after she got the full story about Shampoo's situation. By this point she and the Amazon had forged a real bond of trust, so they agreed to share equal claim to Ranma so Akane could marry him officially while unofficially taking Shampoo on as a Mistress. They were then able to mend fences with Cologne and the Amazons so that Shampoo could remain in Japan, and less than a year later my cousin, Rinse, was born and was formally declared the heir to clan Saotome."

"And your father is Tatewaki Kuno?" Okami asked.

"Is that any stranger than my mom marrying Shampoo?" Tachi turned to Lylac and said, "What's the deal on that, Sis? Your-uh-Fama really set up the deal where she shared Ranma with three other women?"

"Well," Lylac smiled, "You have to understand the way my Fama thinks. She doesn't let problems get the best of her, she turns them into opportunities, and I try to take after her more-or-less. When she realized that she not only was married to my Shampoo but had gotten her pregnant with me on their wedding night...well, she had to work something out that would still allow her to still marry Ranma Saotome, who also had that inconvenient little arrangement with Momma Ukyo thanks to Grandpa's wheeling and dealing. Ukyo got herself hitched to an Amazon bride when she ambushed Momma Perfume, who was chasing after my Fama, and...well, as you can see it gets pretty complicated. All I can tell you is that the five-way marriage deal works, and that my Sibs and me have no complaints about it. We even think it's kind of neat that we can almost always find at least one parent at home, which-come to think of it-can also be pretty inconvenient when one or more of us wants to throw a party and invite some friends over to the dojo."

Tachi turned to Razor and said, "So what's the deal with you? How did you wind up with Ryoga for a father and Shampoo as your mother?"

Razor seemed surprised at being asked, but he shrugged and said, "Well...what's to tell? Mom came all the way from China chasing after Saotome Ranma and Dad accidentally got in the middle of it all, and the next thing he knows he's accidentally knocked her out and they wind up getting married."

"And your mother enjoys the arrangement?" Kimiko asked with obvious curiosity.

"Huh?" Razor blinked, "Oh, sure...Mom's crazy about Dad, frets over him every time he gets lost or winds up late for dinner. I don't see why anybody thinks it's so strange that things would work out for my folks...at least I have a normal father and mother. I mean...this stuff about the two of you having Jusenkyo-cursed mothers who got another girl pregnant..."

"Watch it," Okami frowned, "That's my future wife you're insulting."

"The thing I don't understand is that girl you were with," Tachi frowned, "Watazashi was it? The girl with the big boobs in the string bikini who claims both Kodachi AND Ranma are her parents?"

"Oh, her?" Razor sniffed, "Watazashi's crazy, nobody messes with her. Her folks were engaged when they were just kids, so she's the heir to both the Kuno estate and the Anything Goes Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics tradition. Well...half of the Kuno estate that is. My buddy Takane..."

"That's the son of Tatewaki Kuno and Akane Tendo?" Okami asked with a puzzled frown.

"Oh sure," Razor replied, "What's so odd about that?"

"My Dad and Aunt Akane?" Tachi shook her head, "Weird! But okay, I guess I can see it maybe happening...just how did it happen anyway?"

"I dunno," Razor shrugged, "They met in High School and started dating about the same time that Mom hit town. Way I hear it they couldn't come out and admit to seeing each other on account of her dad being so insistent that she marry Ranma Saotome. Of course once Ranma's engagement to Aunt Kodachi was announced..."

"You say they met when they were just kids?" Lylac asked.

"Yeah," Razor frowned as if trying very hard to dredge up memories, "I think they were about Eight. Takane tells me that Ranma's dad was friends with Grandpa Kuno and that they stayed in the house for several weeks and wound up preventing Takane's mother from committing Supuku, or something like that. Grandpa Kuno was so grateful that he engaged Ranma to Aunt Kodachi, and eight years later they met and fell in love all over again during a Gymnastic event between their High Schools."

"And that girl who looked kind-of like me..." Tachi said carefully.

"You mean Yuan?" Razor sighed, "Her dad's an old friend of my mother named Mousse...you ever hear of him before?"

"My mom...and Mousse?" Tachi raised both eyebrows.

"Oboy," Lylac shook her purple head as if to clear it, "Now I know I'm going to be having nightmares for weeks about that...!"

"You think that's an odd combination," Kimiko smiled, "You should see who Aunt Nabiki married on our timeline."

"Yeah," Okami seemed to follow his iinazuke's sidelong glance, only he frowned in obvious displeasure, producing a throwing spatula in one hand and casually giving it a toss into one corner.

"Yeowch!" a table suddenly cried out, popping up to reveal a humanoid figure who was holding his rump with both hands while dancing around with a table top strapped firmly to his head, "What did you do that for, Saotome?"

"Next time try announcing yourself when you go spying on Kimiko," Okami growled, turning to the others with a sigh, "My friends...or should I say cousins, brothers and sisters? I present to you our resident quick change artist, Kurenai Chameleon."

The boy in question ceased hopping around and removed the table from his head, pulled off his concealing cloak and stood revealed in formal evening attire as he bowed towards Tachi and Lylac, who looked back in dismay at what looked like a male version of their respective common parent.

"Good day to you, Sisters," the boy named Chameleon said with an amused smile, "I couldn't help overhearing your little conversation and find it quite fascinating that I could have two such fair flowers of womanhood as you for my extradimensional siblings."

"You mean..." Lylac said carefully, then hesitated.

Tachi completed her sentence, "You're the son of Kurenai Tsubasa and my mother?"

"Son is questionable," Okami snorted, earning a sour look from the boy in question.

"Please ignore this boorish oaf, he's not properly housebroken just yet," Chameleon retorted, "I'm more man than you'll ever be, Saotome, and someday the fair Kimiko will come to her senses and realize this..."

"When pigs fly," Kimiko said sweetly.

"Okay," Tachi leaned her elbows on the table with her chin on her hands, her expression suddenly gloomy, "I give...who did my dad actually marry on this screwy timeline?"

"You mean Aunt Azusa?" Kimiko asked.

Tachi rolled her eyes, "No further questions."

"One question I have," Lylac spoke up, "If my Fama is his mother, and your mother is my Aunt Kasumi, who did my Aunt Akane eventually wind up with?"

"You mean Uncle Taro?" Chameleon answered, "And before you ask, they have a daughter named..."

Before he could finish there was a crashing noise that came from the front of the restaurant, and then in stepped a dark haired girl whose expression displayed real anger as she roved the interior of the chamber as if looking for prey, an impression only redoubled by the first words she uttered, "All right, where is she?"

"Kanazuchi," Okami said as if only mildly surprised by the girl's rude entrance.

"Where is who, Cousin?" Kimiko asked, getting up out of her chair with concern in her eyes that seemed to disregard the damage to the restaurant of her parents.

"You know who!" Kanazuchi Tendo snapped, "That two-timing, double-crossing, underhanded, sneaky little witch who thinks she can just waltz into my life and...hey, who are these people?"

"Oh," Okami sniffed, "Well, Chameleon was here, but I guess you just missed her."

"Her?" both Lylac and Tachi said in unison.

"No," Kanazuchi pointed at Lylac and her companions, "I mean these guys. Kinda late for a social visit, don't you think?"

"Now that you mention it," Kimiko replied as if just noticing for the first time the hole made by the dark haired girl's entrance.

Kanazuchi just snorted at that and said, "Well, if you're going to get personal, I might ask why you've got your boyfriend here so late in the evening while your folks are away on business, Cousin. Just because the two of you are engaged..."

"I'll have you know that Okami has been a perfect gentleman all evening," Kimiko replied while the boy in question attempted to assume an innocent expression.

"Your cousin does have a good point," Lylac remarked, "It is unusually late, and we really haven't anywhere else to go at the moment. Would it be too much trouble to ask if we could crash here for the night?"

"I don't see why not," Kimiko smiled, "You'd hardly be the first, and no doubt far from the last guests we've let stay here overnight."

"That's awfully generous of you," Tachi said, "But we wouldn't want to be any trouble."

"Oh, no trouble at all," Kimiko assured them, "In fact I don't mind the company. You have such fascinating stories to share, and I'm sure Okami-chan won't mind, will you?"

"Uh..." the boy looked as if he definitely had some objections, but when the girl turned her reddish brown eyes his way he seemed to have trouble thinking of a single issue.

"Darn that Chameleon," Kanazuchi growled as if her mind were just returning to the original cause for her sudden appearance, "Just like her to duck out of the way when I want to have some words with her over certain photos she took without asking. Sometimes she just makes me so mad!"

The girl punched the nearest table, only to hear it yelp and straighten up to reveal Chameleon once more wearing a table strapped to her head. Kanazuchi whirled on her, only to see the boyish looking figure back away with a hasty, "Now just a minute, 'Zuchi-chan, I can explain everything! I had a perfectly legitimate reason for having that camera in the girls' lockers..."

"You-pervert!" Kanazuchi stormed up to the figure of indeterminate gender, "Just who do you think you are? Why, I ought to..."

"Calm down, you two," Okami said, "The last thing we need is more broken furniture in this place. If you're gonna have a lover's spat take it outside where you can do less property damage."

"You shut up!" Kanazuchi snapped, "This is between me and the cross dresser!"

"This just keeps getting better and better," Tachi snorted.

"For who?" Ryoukio asked in mild dismay, "And I thought my family had problems..."

"I don't get it," Razor admitted, "Is that a guy or a girl? I thought..."

"Must be a novel experience," Tachi sniffed, "Still, it is heartening to see that my family doesn't have the corner on all the weird things that can happen..."

"Wait a minute," Lylac had a disquieted expression, "Something weird is happening...can you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Razor asked.

"Hey, I feel it too," Ryoukio marveled, "Kind of like a weird trembling..."

"You're right," Tachi said, staring down at her hands, "It feels like...we're being pulled or something..."

"Slingshot effect," Lylac suddenly announced, "We're being pulled back into the Timestream, possibly even back to the place where we first started out..."

"Um...where was that?" Okami asked as he touched his chest.

"The Tendo dojo for me," Tachi replied, then she noticed that she was starting to fade away and said, "It's like we're going out of focus...our resonance must be going out of sync with the Universe around us..."

"Then why is it happening to me?" Kimiko asked, holding up her own hand to signify its transparency.

"What the heck is going on?" Kanazuchi asked, staring at herself as she found that she could see right through her body.

"You're asking me?" Chameleon gasped, one second before all eight teenagers vanished, leaving an empty restaurant with a big hole near the door with nothing else but the lights currently on to acknowledge the fact that anyone had even been there in the past hour.

For the cast who had been born of the many timelines and histories of the Ranma cast life had just gotten even more complicated...

Continued.

Comments/Criticism/Coming onto crazy Amazons: shadowmane

What's going on? You really don't expect me to reveal that, now do you? Be here as we shift from what some have already termed a very confusing story. To those people I add: "You ain't seen 'nuthin' yet!"

If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: . or it's mirror site at: ~ All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.


	6. Chapter 6

RanBite5

Realities Byte

By Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others,  
Including the Convergences and Altered Destinies Series)

Chapter Five.

Revenge

Reality #24968173

Ranma rushed from school grounds as soon as the last bell sounded, having used the third story window as an exit so as not to give away what he was up to with Akane. She was waiting by the front gate for him to appear so that they could walk each other home, but Ranma had talked Hiroshi into delivering an apologetic letter which asked her to meet him at a certain place at a certain time with the promise of a surprise being hinted at in the fine print.

Ranma was really excited about this, having at long last worked up the courage to finally commit himself to his iinazuke now that they were both about to graduate from Furinkan High. That was why he had agreed to meet with Nabiki so that they could price a ring together that he would later present to Akane in a pre-arranged romantic setting.

This was what he had been working towards for the last two years, struggling against pride and their mutual stubbornness to at long last declare their love in a way that would leave no doubts for anyone, least of all his other fianc es. He had already talked it over with Ukyo and had convinced her of his feelings for Akane and no other. Of course they had gone through a really intense emotional scene, and it had been unpleasant for them both, but now Ranma was convinced that she had accepted his declaration. She had even agreed to be his ringbearer, being the only true friend he could rely upon in all of Nerima.

Nabiki had proven instrumental in helping him plan everything out to the last detail. Unlike with the last attempt at a Wedding she had vowed not to sell information to the opposition. Nabiki had even come up with elaborate schemes to insure that Shampoo and her great-grandmother would be elsewhere when it happened. As for Kodachi...well she and her brother weren't likely to be a problem anytime soon, not after they had wrapped up business there a couple of weeks ago with the Black Rose being institutionalized while Tatewaki Kuno went into drug rehab.

The wedding was only a week away and it was going to be his moment, the summation of a long odyssey with many twists, turns, challenges and adventures. Ranma felt elated as he vaulted from rooftop to rooftop, feeling certain of his destiny, the life journey he was about to embark upon with the woman he had come to love. He reached a residential block that adjoining the financial district and froze abruptly in mid-motion.

Ranma paused where he stood atop a fence, glancing around with that uncanny instinct he had developed for when an attack was immanent, but no enemy appeared at once to justify this feeling. Ranma vaulted down from the wall and looked around, seeing only the empty streets in either direction, which were strangely void of any pedestrian or motor traffic in spite of it being mid-afternoon. Ranma could not shake the sense that something out of the ordinary was about to happen so he stood alert and tried to discern the nature of his new peril.

Then he caught sight of the man standing further down the block, a tall stranger dressed in a leather jacket who did not look like anyone from around these parts. Ranma turned to see whom this was only to find that the man had somehow moved and was now standing on the opposite side of the street. Ranma shifted again, trying to make out who it was when the figure moved yet again and was suddenly standing right in front of him, only an arms length from his face. He had a brief impression of a handsome face, whose lips were twisted up into a cruel smile, and then the figure blurred and Ranma suddenly felt himself being slammed back into the nearest section of wall, creating a huge spiderweb of striating cracks. An arm like solid steel pressed him firmly there as he found himself looking down into...

His own face!

"Nihao, Junior," a much older looking version of himself growled in cruel humor, "Long time no be."

"Wh-what are you...?" Ranma gasped as he tried to free himself, only to find himself yanked from the wall and slammed down into and through the sidewalk, creating a huge crater as his tormentor loomed over him.

"Surprised?" the older Ranma asked, hauling Ranma off his feet and giving him a good shake like a rag doll, "Wonder who I am and why I look just like you?"

Ranma tried to kick the man with a free leg, but his blow had no discernable effect as the larger man shrugged it off without effort, then threw Ranma a length of thirty meters with incredible ease, causing him to slam into a tree with bone-jarring impact.

"Keep wondering," the older Ranma growled, "You're about to get a long-overdue education..."

Nabiki was humming a merry tune to herself as she hurried to make her appointment with Ranma. At last Saotome was going to propose to her little sister. This was not something she wanted to miss, an event of this magnitude only happened maybe once a lifetime, like seeing Haley's Comet or a decent sequel to a really well made movie.

The idiot had finally gotten the guts to make an honest attempt at married life with Akane. If Nabiki had laid betting odds (and of course she had) she would have set the likelihood of their marriage somewhere in the middle of their college years. Instead Ranma was planning to marry Akane one day after their graduation. Nabiki was herself struggling to make the grade in her business classes at Nehotek University and she knew Ranma had no college ambitions to speak of so he was probably intending to take up teaching in the dojo to earn a living for him and Akane. That was better business acumen that she would have normally credited him with, and far be it from Nabiki to stand in the way of a man and his destiny.

Of course it was Akane for whom Nabiki was really doing this, her poor clueless little sister who deserved her own share of happiness after having come through so much in the last two years. For all that Nabiki had a reputation for being a ruthless moneylender, she did care about her family and was willing to go through a lot in order to secure her sister's future happiness with Ranma. It would be far from smooth sailing, and they both had a lot of growing up to do with so many problems yet to be overcome, but if there was one thing that Nabiki had learned over the last two years it had to be that betting against those two was basically a losing option, and if there was one thing Nabiki was not it was a loser.

The surprising thing was that Ranma had turned to her for help, surprising on account of what had happened the last time Ranma and Akane had tried to get married. Of course it had really been their fathers who had planned out that fiasco, and Nabiki had rather naively tried to capitalize upon it by selling out information on where the Wedding was to be held, which naturally resulted in the Saotome home being destroyed by vengeful losers from the Ranma fianc e brigade. It had taken the family most of a year to recover financially from that brouhaha, and Nabiki had well learned from her own error. It was not likely to be repeated this time around, of course, but the one stipulation Ranma had made when seeking Nabiki out was that she agreed to keep the wedding private.

The reception, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter.

Nabiki smiled as she considered the proceeds that would be garnered by selling off tickets to that big shindig. Almost everyone in Furinkan wanted to see the matter concluded between Ranma and Akane, having endured the last two chaotic years of stalemate and impasse. Now at last the great issue would be decided, and all Nabiki had to do was figure out a way of keeping Shampoo and Cologne away from the wedding until it was too late to disrupt things, and since Ukyo had been recruited to help while Kodachi was already out of the picture there was only the remote outside chance that one of Ranma's near-endless supply of enemies might come calling to disrupt things.

Nabiki already had a plan worked out for dealing with that using Ryoga-of all people-to act as bouncer for the wedding. It was a foolproof scheme really. In spite of Ryoga's indecision about whether to go for Akane or Akari, the big goof had a rudimentary sense of honor and could be conned into "doing the right thing," especially when Nabiki held the big hammer of the "P-chan" issue over his head. Things would all be coming together shortly, and like any of her more well-honed plans the satisfaction of once again proving superiority of her intellect over the brawn of the fighters would be the extra little incentive she would need give the whole matter her best effort...

Nabiki froze in mid-stride as the sound of a concussive blast shook the air all around her. She looked up in alarm, seeing a small cloud of dust rising up into the air only a block or two away from where she was standing. Being a native to the Furinkan area and having endured many semesters of harrowing activity she knew instinctively the signs of a major battle in progress, most likely involving Ranma. This was, of course, of immediate interest to her since a good portion of her livelihood had come from bets placed on the outcome of these battles. Nabiki hurried her pace to almost a run, hoping to get the inside scoop on the latest challenger to hit the area and a moment later she turned a corner and came upon the scene of what looked like a major warzone.

There she halted in her tracks and took in the sight that had become all-too-  
common in the province. There was a huge crater sunk into the road, several walls had been smashed and a car had been utterly demolished. A fire hydrant was geysering its contents into the street (curiously enough Ranma had somehow avoided getting wet this time as Nabiki could plainly see that he was still male even at a distance), a tree with a wide trunk had been neatly snapped so that its top part lay across the road at an angle. The sidewalk had several dents and at least two more potholes, all of which would likely result once again in the local community council laying yet another petition of grievances at the doorstep of the Tendo dojo.

All of that was perfectly ordinary enough, of course, but not the guy whom Ranma was fighting. Nabiki's brown eyes widened substantially as she caught a glimpse of the tall, broad-shouldered man in the leather jacket who was pummeling Ranma with great ease and avoiding Saotome's counter-attacks as if a child had launched them. The stranger was big, fast and inhumanly powerful, and he was every bit as good as Ranma-in fact better if Nabiki was any judge! She was just starting to frame the mental question over who could be that good when the man turned about to give her a better look at his handsome profile.

She gasped, for once losing her legendary Ice Queen composure as the recognition hit her like a blow to her gut. He didn't have the ponytail, and his face had harder lines with a far more brooding continence but there was no mistaking the features as being anyone other than Ranma. Even the blue eyes unquestioningly belonged to Saotome Ranma, only those eyes had a chilling element that sent icy shivers down her spine. This Ranma was like a fast-forward computer projection of the boy she well knew, but there was something about him that inspired dread rather than her usual quixotic amusement.

The Ranma she knew had always struck Nabiki as fairly good looking if utterly clueless. Though unbelievably arrogant with an ego the size of Mount Fuji, Ranma was basically a good natured boy who unwittingly manifested an aura of charisma that drew the attention of all things female into his scope. This older Ranma had the arrogance and confidence down pat, but there was something about the way he fought that was more reminiscent of Ryoga, and the aura he manifested was several magnitudes more intense as he fought his younger self in such a way that it seemed as if self-punishment were the goal rather than victory in battle.

"You get it now, Boy?" the older man paused to say as Ranma lay in a heap recovering from the severe pounding he had taken over the last two minutes, "That was just to get your attention. Get up, you wuss, and show me what you've really got. No need to hold anything back in reserve, I can take better than you could dish out on your best day, loser!"

"Ranma..." Nabiki had a sudden irrational urge to rush forward and would have done so had not a hand been laid upon her shoulder. She whirled about intending to snap at whoever it was when she received the second biggest shock of the day.

"Surprised?" said a feminine voice with a sardonic lilt that seemed all too familiar. Nabiki whirled about to see a woman who in many ways looked exactly the same as herself, only some years older with a maturity in her face that belied her youthful appearance. This stranger was also a few inches taller than Nabiki and seemed better built, or at least gave one that impression.

"Who...?" Nabiki started to gasp when she saw the man standing next to her double and she blinked, "Ryoga?"

"Uh...hi," said the much older version of the handsome (if often clueless) lost boy, a Ryoga strangely absent his trademark bandana, also better dressed to judge by the stylish jacket he was wearing..

"Ryoga-kun," the older Nabiki purred with an unmistakable tone of authority in her voice, "Stay here and watch after Ranma...both versions. Don't interfere with their fight, and keep innocent bystanders away until they settle their differences. Oh, and stay away from the water, I don't want to have to go chasing you around with a pig whistle."

"Right," Ryoga nodded as if taking orders from Nabiki were second nature.

Her older self looked at Nabiki with a predatory smile and said, "We have to talk, little sister, just you and me. There are a few issues we need to get straight between us."

"But...Ranma," Nabiki risked turning away to see that the fight had resumed with Ranma trying to punish his older self for the slander of being called a Wuss and a Loser.

"Yes, that," the older Nabiki sighed, "Well, there's no help for it now that Saotome's committed. Guess we'll just have to pick up the pieces when it's all over, like I usually do."

"But that guy...?" Nabiki could not quite bring herself to articulate the words.

"Ranma," her older self replied helpfully, "That's what we need to talk about. Come along, I remember this great restaurant I always wanted to eat at, and since I have an expense account I might as well use it..."

"But...?" Nabiki sputtered, then hesitated as if torn between following her other self or staying and watching the battle rage with the older Ryoga.

"Don't dawdle, Little Sister," the older Nabiki called out, "I've already called in reservations."

Curiosity finally got the better of anxiety as Nabiki turned to follow her older double...

2.

Continuum #60429381

Roll Call:

Shamran Saotome-15, Daughter of Ranma and Shampoo from Continuum #59343921 Takane Tendo-16, Son of Tatewaki Kuno and Akane from Continuum #29457180 Brand Tendo-16, Son of Mousse and Natsume Tendo from Continuum #472193567 Ivory Kuno-16, Daughter of Mousse and Kodachi from Continuum #472193567

Kengo Yatai Kuonji-17, Son of Ukyo Kuonji and Shampoo, native to this Continuum.  
Jonma Saotome-17, Daughter of Ranma and Ukyo, native to this Continuum.  
Twilight Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Shampoo, native to this Continuum.

Shamran felt strangely elated at the thought of actually seeing another world very similar to her own yet in some way fundamentally different. Her brief exposure to the possibilities this left open was enough to tantalize her with the prospects of meeting new faces who shared similar problems to the ones her family faced on an almost routine basis. Ever one to invite novelty and take advantage of new situations, Shamran was more than ready to step across the threshold of old, drab, familiar Furinkan High School and be accosted by the first unfamiliar face to take an interest, which in this case happened to be a handsome young boy with short auburn hair and sapphire blue eyes, who in some odd way reminded her of Fragrance.

"Well, hello," he said with a charming little smile, giving Shamran an appreciative inventory with his eyes before turning his focus towards Yatai and the others, "New relatives in town? She looks a little like one of your two mothers."

"We just met," Yatai replied, giving the other boy a casual, "Not again!" look of semi-exasperation, "We haven't even been formally introduced..."

"That's not so, Yatai-chan," Twilight teased her brother, "She said her name is Shamran. This is our cousin, Dai Yen Tendo, whom everybody calls Yen. Yen-  
chan, these three here seem to be new in town. The tall one says his name is Takane, and that's Brand and Ivory...didn't catch their last names, though."

"That's right," Ivory said in cool reproof, "You didn't."

"My family name is Kuno," Takane bowed formally to Dai Yen then added, "Kuno Takane, a rising star of the Kendo world in the tradition of my father."

"And I am also a Kuno," revealed Ivory in aloof tones, "Ivory is my name, but my school...is somewhat different."

"My name is Brand," said the quiet boy standing next to her, but he chose not to elaborate.

"Oh, so you're related to Sachio and Chi," Dai Yen noted with casual interest.

"And Eidolon," Yatai added with a hint of frost in his voice.

"Oh you," Jonma sniffed, glancing around before adding, "I don't see Chi anywhere? Did she already go onto class?"

"She's with her brother at study hall, Cousin," Dai Yen began to say, "I'm sure you can..."

He didn't get to finish his question before the breeze kicked up by Jonma's passing blew his hair back like in a wind tunnel.

"There she goes again," Twilight chuckled, "Totally clueless yet all charged up to get the morning started. I'm sure one of these days she's going to make herself sick from worrying about Chi. By the way, would somebody mind telling me why Dragon is imitating the lawn this morning?"

"Huh?" a lumpy section of the grass that had not been there a few minutes before suddenly detached itself from the ground and started running flat out in the direction of the gym lockers.

"Too bad," Dai Yen murmured, "Kimiko will be so disappointed to have missed him yet again. In fact here she comes now with Eidolon, which is the usual cue for someone else's appearance..."

"YATAI!" bellowed a harsh voice from across the courtyard.

"Oh, great!" Yatai rolled his eyes, "You think he could give it a rest at least once? I don't have time for our usual sparring match."

"Well don't tell me about it," Dai Yen turned his eyes towards yet another new arrival, "Tell him. Maybe he'll even offer you a rain check."

Shamran turned to see the approaching boy, who was very tall and broad-  
shouldered with light brown hair and blue eyes wearing Chinese clothing and manifesting a gruff manner. She smiled speculatively, already finding this place was rich with potential conquests. The girls were really cute, (even the ones not related to her in some way, if she guessed their associations right) and the guys...well, a girl could do a lot with such potential Stud Muffins...

"Hi, guys," said Kimiko, noticing Shamran and the others, "Who are they? Friends or relatives?"

"A little of both, I think," replied Twilight, only to be drowned out by the approaching giant.

"Yatai, you worthless piece of...old shoe leather!" the large boy growled, giving one the impression that he was deliberately censoring his own words on behalf of the present company that was gathering to their midst, "How dare you go on a date with Eidolon and then just leave her standing at the food rack?"

"Excuse me?" Yatai frowned, glancing nervously at two girls who were approaching from another direction, "Can't this wait, Minos? I didn't leave Eidolon standing anywhere, I just...had a sudden emergency that I had to take care of."

"Oh yeah," snorted the other boy as he placed himself belligerently within arms length of the other boy, "Well, who was she this time? One of these losers or another one of your Suitors?"

Yatai closed his eyes with a weary sigh and said, "I keep telling you, it's not like that!"

"Excuse me," one of the newly arrived girls said politely, a dark haired beauty with magnetic green eyes who made Shamran smile in a speculative manner, "But Yatai already apologized to me, Minos. You don't have to punish him on my account, it was a perfectly understandable situation."

"It was?" Yatai's voice almost squeaked until he coughed to clear a certain tightness, "Oh yeah...it was, just like I told you..."

The dark haired girl continued on towards class, "And next time you leave home without your thermos you may think twice about the potential embarrassment you may be bringing upon yourself and others. I personally don't mind your other form, but if you feel awkward about being with me under those conditions, then I suppose that there is little else that needs be said about the matter."

Yatai stood where he was looking stunned as the girl continued on into the building, but then the purple haired boy managed to gasp, "Nani?"

"Shot down again," Dai Yen rocked back on his heels and seemed somehow smugly confident about something, "You two shouldn't act like a couple of schoolboys around that girl, you lose out every time you behave like first-year freshmen."

The tall boy named Minos glared at him and said, "Shouldn't you be out somewhere extorting cash from those same freshmen?"

"Actually I rather enjoy the company right here," Dai Yen offered an arm to Shamran, "Would you like for me to show you around? There are to be a few minutes left before we have to be in our homerooms."

Shamran was delighted by this turn of events when she heard someone else call out, "Hey guys, what's up? Who's the new talent?"

Shamran's delight was magnified as she caught sight of the beautiful girl with long red hair who had been hailing them and started to wonder if things could get any better than this. This girl was tall with long, shapely legs and a very athletic build manifesting a carefree attitude that reminded one a lot of her Aunt Keiko. Such interesting...possibilities there, the kind that more than piqued her curiosity and made her hope their stay in this world would be both long and productive.

Ivory and Brand had been holding back from all of this up until now, but Takane finally broke his own silence by saying, "Well now, there's someone you don't see every day. And who are you, radiant flower?"

"Arigami Takomo," the redhead smiled, "And you?"

The boy bowed to her respectfully and said, "Kuno Takane, at your service, Arigami-san."

"That figures," said Minos gruffly.

"Kuno?" the redhead smiled, "Then you must be related to Eidolon, but you look a little more like Sachio, I'm thinking."

"Kuno is my father's family name," Takane revealed, "But on my mother's side I am also a Tendo."

"A Tendo?" the redhead smiled, "Like Kimiko and Rui? Speaking of which, has anybody seen her today? I do hope she didn't get lost again..."

"Like usual," Kimiko said, rolling her eyes, "My twin Sis is so hopeless..."

"I'm sure wherever Rui is she's thinking of you," said Twilight, enjoying the slightly deflated look on the newcomer boy's expression.

Shamran had been giving Takane the dagger stare, but the realization that this red-haired beauty already had another girlfriend opened possibilities for further speculation. She smiled as she said, "You have such magnificent skin, Arigami-san, you must work hard to maintain your good complexion."

"Why, thank you," the redhead brightened immediately, "I should say the same about you. Are you an Amazon related to Yatai and Twilight?"

"Something like that," Shamran gave the girl her most dazzling smile and was rewarded by seeing her color slightly.

"Uh oh," Kimiko murmured, exchanging looks with Twilight, who said, "They'd better not let Rui catch her saying that..."

Ivory had heard enough. Grasping her half-brother by the arm she turned to the others and said, "Will you excuse us? We need to talk."

"Oh?" Brand asked curiously, "What about?"

Ivory waited until they were beyond easy hearing of the others and said, "Have you forgotten that we're not even in our own world anymore? Hanging around socializing with these alternate versions of ourselves is not bringing us any closer to going home, in case I need to remind you, even if there is some slight fascination with discovering what changes in our history brought about such a radically different outcome. We have to get back to our own time and soon! The longer we stay here the harder it might become to find our way back to our own universe."

"Huh?" Brand replied, then he seemed to think about it before saying, "You're right...this isn't getting us any closer to finding our way home...but what can we do? We're not really magicians, just stage assistants in Dad's magic act."

Ivory rolled her eyes to the heavens and wondered for the thousandth time what had ever possessed her father to mix his genes with a Tendo. What she said aloud was, "But there is someone we do know who possesses the knowledge of timetravel, who might also know how to cross the boundary layer between dimensions and alternate histories so that we can find our way back home..."

"You mean great-great grandmother Cologne?" Brand replied.

"Yes," Ivory said, "Or, failing her, there is always Happosai."

"I thought you didn't like great-great-great grandfather Happosai?" Brand looked even more puzzled than ever.

Ivory counted backwards from ten in Chinese and wished (for what was not the first time) that she really did know real magic and not the stage illusionist kind. A good disappearing spell would have done wonders for removing a certain unsightly blemish from her presence. Unfortunately she needed her half brother's cooperation to run interference while she sought out what was needed. The Amazon girl did not look too much inclined to help, and she doubted that the dark haired boy was in any great hurry to leave the company of so many attractive females, so she would have to make the best with what she had and hope that she somehow would live not to regret it.

Unbeknownst to her, however, Dai Yen's superlative hearing had picked up every word of their exchange and he was smiling speculatively to himself while murmuring aloud the word, "Interesting."

"What is?" his lovely companion of the moment drew him back to his more immediate surroundings.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about," Dai Yen turned on the charm and added, "Would you mind telling me a little something about yourself? Your Japanese is excellent, and I don't think you came fresh off the boat from China..."

"Ah..." Shamran winced slightly, "Not exactly...I'm half Japanese, if you must know..."

"But you must be related to Yatai and Twilight surely?" he said, giving her a slight nod before adding, "Surely there can't be too many other girls in the Tokyo district who have your distinctive haircolor."

"Oh, ah...you'd be surprised," Shamran said with a slight smile, thinking that this boy would have to sometime meet her distant cousin, Ryeka.

Takane turned his attention towards Kimiko and said, "So...you're family name is Tendo. Who are your parents?"

"Ryoga Hibiki and Akane Tendo," Kimiko smiled, "And what are your parent's names, handsome?"

"Ah..." Takane suffered the equivalent to as a mental short circuit, realizing that he was talking to the equivalent of his own sister, "Uh...never mind."

"Uh oh," Takomo glanced up, "Don't look now but it's almost time for class. We'd better hustle."

"What about us?" asked Brand.

"It think we'd better..." Shamran started to say when she suddenly paled, "Something...woah..."

"What's wrong?" Yen asked.

"I don't know," Shamran said, "I'm starting to feel woozy..."

"Now that you mention it," Takane frowned, "I am feeling a little light headed..."

"You know," Kimiko said, "Now that you mention it, so do I..."

"Hey, what gives?" Minos asked, "I'm seeing weird colors here..."

"Huh?" Yatai raised a hand only to discover that he could see right through it, as if he were becoming transparent and surrounded by a blue glow.

"Rui!" Takomo cried out, feeling her grip on her surroundings starting to fade out into a blue haze.

"What in the name of the Kami...?" Twilight frowned, seeing the rest of the world became indistinct and blurred.

Dai Yen turned to Shamran, who was much more visible than anyone else around him and said, "I really think we need to talk about thi..."

The sentence remained uncompleted for a moment later he and a dozen other people had utterly vanished...

3.

Continuum #37944326

Roll Call:

Spring Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Shampoo from Continuum #30197682 Akira Hibiki-16, Son of Spring and Godai Hibiki from Continuum #30197684 Watazashi Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Kodachi from Continuum #29457180 Ryokoma Saotome-16, Son of Ranma and Ukyo from Continuum #59343921 Yinra Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Akane from Continuum #47219567

Storm Saotome-17, Son of Ranma and Shampoo from this dimension.  
Lightning Saotome-15, Daughter of Ranma and Shampoo, "".  
Godai Hibiki-17, Son of Ryoga and Akane, "".  
Kaori Hibiki-15, Daughter of Ryoga and Akane, "".  
Towel Kuonji-16, Son of Mousse and Ukyo, "".  
Incense Tendo-16, Daughter of Perfume and Nabiki, "".

"So," Soon-Li said in a thoughtful tone of voice, "You come from other worlds where the circumstances surrounding your individual histories is very different from our own. This phenomenon is not unfamiliar to the Amazons and does, in fact, have precedence. Understandably you would like to be returned home, and you have an artifact capable of such a thing, but you don't know how to use it."

"All I know is that it responds to thoughts and intentions," Akira replied, "When grandmother gave it to me to use she said I had only to think of a time and place and the medallion would take me there in an instant..."

"So why didn't it take you there the first time you used it?" Ranma asked his alleged grandson.

"I...don't know," Akira shrugged, "It seems to bounce me around through time at pretty random events. The first couple of tries brought me to some very strange places, the third time I wound up with my Mom, but not in exactly the right time like I was supposed to visit."

"You wanted to see us," Shampoo said simply, "Your...grandmother and grandfather...but why wasn't the first time good enough?"

"Because I had to find them when they were still young," Akira frowned, "I don't really understand it myself, but there's something they need from when they were a very young age, even before they got married...forgive me. You do look and sound so much like my Grandmother, but I could tell you aren't the same..."

"He's a Hibiki all right," Watazashi sniffed in mild disgust, "Rambling, incoherent and clueless."

"At least he means well," Spring said, eyeing her paradimensional sibling with a sour expression, "But why did this artifact draw us all in from our worlds, and why did it bring us to this version of my homeland?"

"I think Watazashi has a point," Soon-Li diplomatically noted, "The Hibiki effect, as is well known to us and fairly well documented, causes a complete loss of directional ability which may well apply to thoughts and intentions as well as to ordinary directions...my apologies to your husband, Akane-chan, no offense intended."

"Hey," Akane sniffed, "Nobody's more of an expert on the big goof than me, and I sure wouldn't want to let him drive any timetravel doohickey that fell into his possession."

"But the last time it got used it was held by you," Ryokoma said to Spring.

"Yeah, but she was being pawed by that other Hibiki guy," Yinra pointed out, "And Akira here was trying to stop him, so the way I figure it that compounds the problem."

"So why did only some of you arrive here and not others?" Soun Tendo asked, "Were you all standing near to one another?"

"No," Ryokoma replied, "We were all spread out in the dojo, but some of us were rushing up on Spring here and...well...that's when we wound up here."

"Fascinating," Nabiki mused, "And what were you thinking at the moment you last vanished?"

"That I wanted to go home to China," Spring replied, "Only this isn't the right place..."

"I was thinking of returning home to my pool," Watazashi frowned, "And for that I wanted the locket."

"I wanted to be with my family again," Ryokoma said.

"I wanted you guys to leave," Yinra, said, "I didn't mean I should go with you."

Soon-Li turned to Nabiki and asked, "What is in your mind, daughter? You seem unusually thoughtful, even for you."

"I was just thinking, Matriarch," Nabiki replied, "There had to be a common linking factor for why just these few arrived here out of all those they say were gathered in one spot. I suspect a Sympathetic resonance has been established between these various alternate versions of our offspring that affects just them and not we Elders. Perhaps it's because we have duplicates on all the realities they've so far managed to visit while they are unique to their home dimensions."

"Similarity and Contagion," Shampoo remarked, "One of the cornerstones of Magic, right?"

Nabiki gave a droll expression to the purple haired warrior and said, "And since when were you the designated Lore Master of the Nyanichiczu? I was getting around to making that analogy linking this effect to one of the Seven fundamental Pillars of cosmic order. In plain layman's terms that artifact is a powerful nexus point that responds to living Nexus energy on all the many realities of existence. When it was first used by young Hibiki here the effect was misdirected from his goal...in fact, what was the thing that was in your mind when you first used the pendant, Akira-san?"

"Uh, well..." Akira replied, "I was thinking about the robots that were attacking our homeland and..."

"Robots?" Ranma spoke up, "Could you tell us something about that?"

"That is a very good point," said Soon-Li, "Perhaps it would help us to better understand this problem if we knew more about you young people. Can you tell us a little something about yourselves, just for clarity of understanding?"

"Okay," Akira began, "It started about a month ago when we first heard rumors of trouble with some outlying villages being pillaged by machines and men with strange weapons. We sent out patrols and they came back with reports of widespread devastation unlike anything we'd seen since the collapse of the Central government in the time of my parents. Word also reached our ears that the Musk Dynasty had been encountering similar troubles along their boarders. Since my Grandfather is the War Master of our village and my Grandmother is the designated heir to the Matriarch, they set out to investigate and discovered that an Alien Warlord calling himself The Master had set up a base in the heart of rural China and was ravaging our neighbors to steal precious resources while forcing their people into slavery, or worse. They defeated this enemy but at a terrible price. Both of their bodies were infected with an alien plague that the Healers and Lore Masters of our village can't cure. The plague has spread to infect almost everyone in our village, including my parents, but there is some hope that we can cure this plague if I can bring my grandparents forward to my time, where a cure might be possible with their help."

"And they have to be young, prior to the time of their marriage?" Nabiki asked curiously.

"I don't really understand it myself," Akira replied, "I was wandering through China when all of this happened, I came home and found almost everybody sick or dying, including my parents. Only Grandmother was well enough to explain to me what she wanted me to do, her and a Doctor who showed up to help, who thought the cure would be possible with his help...I really don't know anything more than that. I'm sorry."

"That's all right," Rinse said, patting the boy on his knee, "At least you tried."

"Just Saotome and Shampoo," Nabiki mused, "I wonder...Ranma's healing factor is unusually high, and if Shampoo really is the Matriarch on his timeline..."

Shampoo's eyes were wide as she turned to Soon-Li, "I find that incredible. I may be the current Master of the Lightning school, but that hardly qualifies me as Matriarch material..."

"You'd make a better Matriarch than I would," Akane sniffed, "But yeah, it is kind of odd..."

"Then what about you?" Storm Saotome asked, "You say your version of China isn't the same as our own?"

"Well, no," Spring replied, "For one thing nobody's planning to attack us, and for another thing great-great-grandmother isn't dead. She may not be in the best of health, but she's over three hundred and twenty years old, after all..."

"Yeah," Ranma sniffed, "And I always thought the old ghoul'd live forever."

"So..." Shampoo hesitated, "On this other timeline...you're my daughter?"

"I'm the oldest of three," Spring replied, giving Storm and Lightning a curious scrutiny, "I have a little brother and sister who are still training to become warriors, and I'm training for my first tournament, which begins in another month. I'll win it, of course, since I'm the best of my generation."

"She has the trademark Saotome pride down right," said Perfume, turning to share a smirk with Nabiki.

"Definitely a Saotome," Nabiki nodded.

"No question about that, Sugar," Ukyo snorted.

"Then what am I?" Watazashi sniffed, "I'm a Saotome, too, and I'd like that fact to be noted without whispered comments, veiled innuendoes and vile aspersions against my Mother."

"I'm sorry," Ranma said, "I'm not doubting you or nothing, kid, but...I just can't get my mind around the idea of me marrying Kodachi."

"Why, father?" Watazashi frowned, "Is she so terrible in your world that you would cast any thought of her aside and let another man claim her for her own? My father would wade through the fires of Hell to prevent such a foul fate..."

"Um," Akane spoke up, "Not to interrupt you or anything, but the Kodachi we know isn't with another man, at least not a real one, though she pretends to it like Kuonji..."

"Hey!" Ukyo spoke up, "You're comparing me to Bu Xian? I resent that!"

"Do you deny the analogy?" Mousse asked his wife in a teasing voice.

"No," Ukyo replied with a pleasant smile, "I just resent it."

"All right," Nabiki said, "You're Kodachi's child by Ranma, so what's your story?" she asked Ryokoma.

"My story?" Ryokoma asked, turning to look towards Ukyo, "Well...where I come from I'm the son of Ranma Saotome and Ukyo Kuonji, but I've also got three other mothers who I look up to and respect very much..."

"You mean a Harem?" Akane asked in tones of disbelief, giving Ranma an accusing glare that was matched by Shampoo with doubled intensity.

"Well...kind of like a Harem, I guess," Ryokoma shrugged, "Only my folks call it a Group Marriage. You see, Dad was engaged to two women by grandfather, one before his birth, the other later on when he was six..."

"Pop," Ranma said sourly, "He engaged me to marry a Tendo and Ucchan..."

"So it happened there as well," Ukyo sighed, "We met as kids and I asked my Dad if I could marry you..."

"Oh no," Ryokoma replied, "My Mom didn't meet my Dad until they were in their teens. It was Momma Nabiki that she met when they were kids, and..."

"Wait up here," Nabiki spoke up, "This is the part that gives me trouble. You're saying that I was the one who went on the training mission instead of Ranma?"

"Well, yeah," Ryokoma replied, "When Dad was six Grampa Saotome made a deal with Grampa Tendo to foster their children with each other. Dad grew up alongside Aunt Kasumi and Akane while Momma Nabiki traveled around with Grampa Saotome and learned the Saotome Ryu. When they came back home they engaged her to Dad, only Momma Ukyo and Momma Shampoo showed up a short time after this with their own claims..."

"I was chasing after Ranma?" Shampoo asked.

"No," Ryokoma replied, "You were married to Momma Nabiki"

"I-what?" Shampoo and Nabiki exchanged astonished glances.

"And then Momma Perfume showed up and got engaged to Mom," Ryokoma continued, "Then great-great grandmother arrived and insisted that the Amazon rules applied, and the only way Mom and Momma Nabiki could marry Ranma was if he proved tough enough to face Mommas Perfume and Shampoo in combat."

"One at a time, of course," Perfume asked.

"Oh no," Ryokoma said, "You fought him together and he won. Then great-great-  
great-grandfather Happosai said that an old Amazon rule allowed four warriors to marry one man if they agree to share him, so Momma Nabiki made a deal with Mom and the others to make it a four-way marriage..."

"Four warriors marry one guy?" Akane asked.

"There is such a custom," Soon-Li remarked, "It's very rarely invoked, but there are examples of such group marriages in our history."

"Weird," Ukyo shook her head, "I'm married to Perfume-chan?"

"What's so weird about that?" Perfume asked with a twinkling in her eyes, "I always said it could have worked if you'd only given me half a chance."

"So I'm the one who came up with this deal to marry Ranma and the others?" Nabiki asked incredulously.

"I guess it is kind of strange," Ryokoma shrugged, "Only it doesn't seem like it to me. I've always thought my family was normal and it was other kids who had to get by with just two parents. My brothers and sisters all think so..."

"How many kids?" Ukyo asked.

"At last count?" Ryokoma started counting on his fingers before he said, "About eight of us so far. My oldest sister is Lylac..."

"Whose kid is that?" Nabiki asked.

"Yours and Momma Shampoo," Ryokoma answered.

"WHAT?" chorused both women.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that my Momma Nabiki has a Jusenkyo curse?" Ryokoma said contritely, "She turns into a guy, and when she first met Momma Shampoo in this village she defeated her in battle, got married and had Lylac on their wedding night..."

"I-I...?" Ukyo blinked her eyes while Shampoo turned a look that was both bewildered and accusing. Perfume was eyeing her wife with a very speculative expression while their daughter, Incense, was looking from the three of them to the new arrivals with an equally confused expression.

"Who else?" asked Lightning, who seemed to be even more perversely fascinated by this story.

"Well," Ryokoma said with a thoughtful expression, "The next one of us to be born was my older sister, Fragrance..."

"Fragrance?" Incense asked, "And her mother is...?"

"Momma Perfume and Mom," Ryokoma said.

"I also had a Jusenkyo curse?" Perfume asked before hesitantly adding, "Nannichuan?"

"Oh no," Ryokoma replied, "Momma Nabiki had that curse, you had Maoniichuan..."

Several people started talking at once, beginning with Nabiki, Akane, Shampoo and Ranma, who managed to get the others to quiet down before he asked, "You're saying that I don't have a curse, but Nabiki does, and it's Perfume who turns into a Cat?"

"Yeah, that's it," Ryokoma said brightly.

Ranma started to smile, "I think I like the sound of this..."

"Excuse me?" Shampoo growled.

"Well, think about it, really," Ranma explained to his wife's skeptical regard, "I don't turn into a girl, you don't turn into a cat, and both curses wind up being somebody else's problem..."

"Namely me and Per-chan," Nabiki growled with a sour glance in his direction.

"Okay," Akane said, "So, in other words, on your world Nerima is still around, Nabiki turns into a guy, Perfume's a cat and Ranma's married to four women and has eight kids..."

"Excuse me," Yinra said, "What do you mean 'still around?' What happened to Nerima?"

"It's gone, kid," Ranma said somberly, "It was totally blown away. It happened years ago before any of our kids were born. We moved the family and as many survivors as we could back to China and settled here in Joketsuzoku. I guess a lot of things are just different about our two worlds, and in a lot of ways I think you got the better bargain."

"Pervert," murmured Akane.

"Excuse me," Godai spoke up for the first time in the whole discussion, "I can't help wondering who Dad married in your world. Was it my mother?"

"Oh sure," Ryokoma replied, "Your oldest daughter is named Ryonami and you've got a son named Ran who's a couple years younger than me..."

"That's all the world needs is more Hibikis," Towel sniffed.

"Look, can we get back onto the subject here?" Yinra asked, "All right, you wanna know what my story is? It's like this...my Dad is Ranma Saotome and my mother's name is Akane Tendo. I've got a twin brother named Yangra and my oldest sister is named Rinse, only her mother's my world's version of Shampoo. Dad's married to both of them and everything's just peachy between us, so you wanna make something of it, go right ahead, because we're happy, all right?"

"Got it," Ranma said, wincing slightly when he saw the looks he was receiving from both Akane and Shampoo, "Or I'm gonna get it, sooner or later..."

"Fine," Yinra glared at the others before turning her attention towards Soon-Li, "So now that we've got that out of the way, how about we get back to the question about how you're gonna help us find our way back to our own homes. I want to see my family again, so could somebody please help me with that problem?"

"Nabiki?" Soon-Li turned towards the brown haired Lore Master.

"Well," Nabiki replied, "Near as I can tell the pendant is the key to the whole problem. If Spring-chan over there can get control over the device she ought to be able to send everybody back where they belong, so I suggest she try and experiment now and see if she can conjure a place up in her mind that's closer to her own home, and maybe try and help these others find their way back to their timelines."

"Well then," Soon-Li said as she regarded Spring, "It would seem to be all up to you, young lady. Do you think you have what it takes to restore things back to normal?"

"Well," Spring said as she took the pendant off from around her neck and held it in both hands, "I can try. What do I have to do?"

"Concentrate on your memories of your home and try to visualize a doorway opening between you and there," Nabiki replied, "Try to hold the doorway stable so that you can bring your friends along so you can help them get back home..."

"Friends?" Watazashi asked.

"Ah, whatever," Nabiki turned to Perfume, "That sound about right to you, Per-  
chan?"

"Anything you say," Perfume quirked a smile on her lips as she added, "Stud-  
muffin."

Nabiki rolled her eyes and murmured aloud, "I'm gonna be hearing about this for a month at least. Okay, so you take the pendant, you think about dialing home and you open the doorway wide enough for you and your companions to walk through. Then when you find your way home it'll be a lot easier to help these other kids get back to where they belong. Think you can try your hand at that, kid?"

"I'll try," Spring said, closing her eyes and concentrating, trying to form an image of home with her strong and loving parents waiting for her to come back.

"Hmph," Watazashi said as she folded her arms over her chest, "You should let me handle that item. I have a very strong imagination and excellent powers of concentration."

Spring frowned in annoyance at the implied slight in that statement and tried not to let herself think negative thoughts about what she would like to do to her obnoxious paratime sibling. She began conjuring the power, visualizing that blue glow that she had seen before, and gradually she felt a tingling against her skin and opened her eyes to discover that the glow was surrounding not only her but every other young person in the arena.. She started to say something when she felt the power of the jewel expand, only the power engulfed the space between worlds and seemed to connect to various placed and points spread out all over the reaches of her imagination. She opened her mouth to protest these strange occurrences but no sound came out...and then reality inverted and everything around her once more exploded in a kaleidoscope of sound, light and image.

When the glow faded away they were gone, along with five other teenagers.

"Uh..." Nabiki said hesitantly into the ensuing silence, "On second thought maybe that wasn't such a great notion..."

Continued.

Comments/Criticisms/Lore Master Hotline: shadowmane

It's Ranma vs. Ranma in a fight to the finish, and who will be the winner? Be there!

If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: . or it's mirror site at: ~ All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.


	7. Chapter 7

RanByte6

Realities Byte

By

Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others,  
Including both the Convergences and Altered Destinies Series)

Chapter Six.

My Dinner Entree.

Continuum #24968173

Nabiki Tendo had thought herself fairly inured to dealing with the strange, the bizarre, even the incomprehensible on a more-or-less routine basis, but sitting in a fancy restaurant at a table across from another version of herself had to be a new one for the records. In point of fact she was finding this older Nabiki unsettling for more than just the strangeness of the situation.

Right now her other self was ordering from the menu in fluent Cantonese, a language Nabiki had quite naturally studied but had yet to master down to the least nuance like this woman before her. As far as Nabiki could tell-judging by the reaction of the Chinese mait'r'D-there was not the least flaw in her tonal pronunciation, if anything the other Nabiki was far too relaxed and sanguine about placing her order, as if she had nothing better to do at the moment.

"Your turn," the older Nabiki smiled, "Or would you prefer to let me order for you? I happen to know your tastes..."

"Uh...no thanks," Nabiki said, not as able to hide her unease as this other woman. She picked up her menu and said, "I'd like the fried noodles with chow mien and a side-order of egg rolls, some wanton and hot spicy tea...is that all right?"

"Oh come on," her counterpart replied, "You can do better than that. It's my treat, live a little, indulge yourself."

Nabiki gave the other woman her most careful scrutiny before she said, "You don't mind? The prices here are a bit steep..."

"Why should I mind?" the other Nabiki remarked, "It's on the expense account, like I told you.," and she proceeded to add items to the list Nabiki had already ordered, then added with a soft chuckle as the mait'r'D went off to fill their orders, "I can well remember what a bottomless pit I used to have. Ryonami used to tease me about having an oral fixation..."

"Ryonami?" Nabiki sat upright.

"She's married," her counterpart replied, "Has three lovely children. I look her up now and then just to see how she's doing. I'm afraid my work keeps me fairly busy most of the time...in fact Time is my business, which is how I can be sitting here with you now when you won't really be me for the next twenty years, give or take a few seasons."

"You're me from the future?" Nabiki found the notion easier to accept than the generosity that her other self was currently displaying.

"Well," her other self shrugged, "One possible future. To be perfectly honest we don't share the exact same quantum signature, but the difference is so miniscule you'd hardly be able to tell the difference."

"Quantum signature?" Nabiki repeated.

"Of course," her other self replied, steepling her hands once again to lean her chin upon her index fingers, "Every Universe in the Multiverse has its own peculiar vibrational rate. It's how we tell travelers apart from one Continuum to the next. Everything within a single dimension vibrates at the exact same frequency, otherwise their particles would fail to interact with other particles occupying the same space and time coordinates. Two objects with different frequencies can't touch each other. You can change the frequency rate on an object to make it resonate differently, which causes it to slip between the walls of space and time until it finds a resonance it matches. A signature is different in that you take it with you wherever you go, and it remains peculiar to the coordinates of your own home dimension."

"Right," Nabiki said cautiously, "And by 'We' you mean...?"

"The Time Agency that I work for," Nabiki-future answered, "We call it the ATC for short, or Time Commission if you like. Ranma also belongs to the agency and is one of our more effective operatives in Timespace Enforcement..."

"A cop," Nabiki said blandly, "You're telling me that the Ranma you know is a..."

"Timecop," her future self replied, "Charged with seeing to it that the timelines remain fairly stable with nobody disrupting the probability currents or causing a massive chain disruption in the balance between past and future. We pretty much have our hands full policing the timeline to see that things never get too far out of hand what with all these Time Jumpers and Probability Pirates to keep tabs on. I'm one of many central dispatchers who assign agents to deal with criminal cases that threaten to tear reality asunder..."

"Wait!" Nabiki signaled for a time-out, "Let me get this straight...you work for this Time Commission and you're Ranma's dispatcher?"

"And Ryoga's," the older Nabiki replied, "Those two are partners, have been for a number of years. We assign them to the really tough cases where their...unique abilities can be put to good use."

"And when did this happen?" the younger Nabiki asked, "Did you get drafted or were you given a choice you couldn't refuse...?"

"Oh no," her older self replied, "I volunteered...I had to, really. It was the only way to keep tabs on Ranma once he accepted his position..."

"And why did you need to keep track of him?" the younger Nabiki wondered.

"What else was I supposed to do?" her older self replied matter-of-factly, "After all he is my iinazuke..."

Ranma had faced down some of the toughest challengers ever to take up martial arts for their standard without flinching, from Kirin to Taro to Happosai to even more bizarre menaces such as Prince Herb and Saffron of Mount Phoenix, but never before had he faced an opponent this formidable, who seemed to know his every move before it was executed, who had a counter for each attack and flowed effortlessly out of the way of Ranma's most powerful maneuvers. Even when Ranma managed to score a hit it was as if he were punching solid iron, his older counterpart absorbing blows that would have shattered steel and fluffing it off like it was nothing. Worse still-from the perspective of his pride-his opponent continued to taunt in ways that were disturbingly familiar, as if he knew this form of rattling someone's cages well from long and careful practice.

"Give it up, kid," the older man taunted, "I can keep this up all day while you're losing it by inches. I know every move you've got, I'm stronger and a hell of a lot faster, so there's absolutely no way you can beat me."

"Shut up!" Ranma snarled, only to find himself grabbed by his larger foe with such laughable ease that he might as well be posing for his yearbook pictures.

"Not until I've had my say," his counterpart replied, slamming Ranma down on the ground and pinning him in place as he hissed, "And for once in your pathetic life you're gonna listen!"

Ranma fought to get free but found his position untenable. He managed to gasp out, "What do you want from me? I didn't do nothing...!"

"OH. Yes. You. Did!" his opponent growled, hissing each word into Ranma's face as if they individually contained a distinctive meaning, "It's time you faced that, Junior, and stop running away from responsibility. You keep avoiding the truth and you might just wind up like the old man."

"No way!" Ranma snarled, "I'll never wind up like Pop..."

"Yeah, yeah," his counterpart said in dismissive tones, "I said the same thing myself about a zillion times, but you know what? I was turning into my father! I was becoming just like him when I was exactly your age! It was so much easier to go along with things instead of face the truth about myself and what I was doing to the people around me!"

"What are you talking about?" Ranma snarled, "You're crazy!"

"Bingo," the other man snorted, "What was your first clue?"

All at once Ranma found himself picked up again by one hand before his back made rude acquaintance with the wall of a nearby building. For a moment he was stunned and felt very much like a rag doll in the hands of his antagonist, but even through the haze and pain he could make out the words, "You're not gonna do it this time! I won't permit it to happen all over! You can't marry her, you stupid jerk, it will destroy you both and everyone around you!"

"M-Marry...?" Ranma managed to gasp out, only to find those chillingly blue eyes staring back at him coldly.

"I'm talking about Akane, you moron!" the larger man snarled, "This is the day you were gonna propose to her, which is why I've come back to your time to put a stop to it before it can happen!"

"N-Nani?" Ranma blinked, suddenly rattled by something other than being slammed around like a toy action figure. He stared at the man who looked so much like him and felt a shudder of horror...

"Iinazuke?" Nabiki could not believe she had heard right.

"Why so surprised?" her older self replied as she sipped from her glass of water, "You do remember that Daddy pledged that one of us was going to marry him someday."

"But..." Nabiki stumbled over the words, "What about Akane?"

"Akane," for the first time her older counterpart showed a trace of real emotion, going from momentary sadness to a quiet, intense kind of anger, "What about Akane? She had her chance and she blew it. Ranma needs someone with both feet squarely planted on the ground, and it might as well be me. After all...it's not like there's a lot of competition these days..."

"W-w-what happened?" Nabiki could barely get the words out.

"Well," her companion said with a thoughtful expression, "Technically I shouldn't be telling you. It's against all ATC rules to be giving out clues about the future, like...say...what happens in the stock market in another six months when the Asian economic crisis stabilizes and certain high-yield companies begin to rack up profits in the double digits."

"Oh?" Nabiki arched an eyebrow, thinking over that hint while still trying to absorb the other implications.

The older Nabiki just sighed, "I might as well tell you now. It's the reason Ranma's currently beating up on his younger self, and knowing him he'll probably be telling his double all about his tragic story, the baka."

"So..." the younger Nabiki said slowly, "What aren't you supposed to tell me?"

"That the marriage between Ranma and Akane will barely survive the year," the older woman replied, "And it's going to end very badly. Akane has a pre-  
existing condition that you may not be aware about. You've noticed how recently she seems to be getting some control over her violent urges?"

"Uh..." Nabiki thought a moment then said, "It has been getting a lot quieter around here, now that you mention it."

"It won't last," the older Nabiki replied as she accepted her hot tea then blew on the cup before drinking, "Her anger is like a living thing, you see...it demands to be fed every so often. Think of it as being a period of remission before the cancer flares again to full life. It's just laying dormant beneath the surface waiting to break out, and the Honeymoon is where it starts to happen."

"The Honeymoon?" Nabiki repeated, "What could go wrong there?"

Her older counterpart just gave her an odd look, then shook her head and said, "It's obvious that you've never been married! All right, suppose I explain it to you like this: What is the primary motivation for Akane's tendency to beat up on Ranma?"

"His mouth," Nabiki promptly answered.

"So," her older self replied, "You're saying that he deserves it because of his mouth?"

"Ah...well," the younger Nabiki hesitated, "I didn't say he deserved it, but if Ranma wanted to avoid making her angry he should watch what he says..."

"Ranma?" her older self said incredulously, "Think about what he says before he says it? You must be mad!" She smiled after she said this and added, "Actually he's a lot better at controlling his tongue these days. After all the hell he's been through he's not the same guy that you remember, and it all began that night after they got married and the two made passionate whoopee together. When the heat wore down and they cuddled up together a very strange thing happened to Akane...she woke up in the middle of the night, saw Ranma laying beside her, and she promptly threw him out of bed, calling him a pervert."

"She what?" Nabiki gasped.

"I didn't know about this for a while, of course," her older self spread her hands to emphasize her helplessness, "It's not the sort of thing Ranma would talk about unless you carefully pry out the details, like I have. Looking back it's not really all that surprising...Akane had just fallen into the pattern of beating him up whenever he gave her the slightest provocation, even if it was just something she imagined him doing. It was a habit, an easy form of release for pent up aggressions, and Ranma made the perfect target because he never fought back. Akane was always the aggressor, and violence was her means of controlling Ranma, not to mention her focal point for controlling her own urges."

"Well...I..." Nabiki stumbled as she thought about this, "I...suppose I never really looked at it that way..."

"Oh yeah?" her counterpart suddenly flashed an angry look in her direction, "And I suppose it never amused you, never gave you a slight sense of smug superiority to sit back and watch Ranma make an absolute fool of himself trying to appease Akane, or his frequent gaffs where he'd say or do something without realizing the consequences of his often rude behavior?"

"Um..." Nabiki shuffled nervously in her seat, "Well..."

"Of course you found it amusing," her older self answered her own question, "Like having your own Three Stooges marathon in the comfort of your living room. Of course it never seemed to bother you that the physical abuse was all going one way, that there was no way for Ranma to retaliate in kind or maintain any kind of balance in their relationship. He was the Enabler, she was the Abuser, and the only way he could think of averting her periodic rages was to find some way not to make her angry. It didn't work, of course, even after Ranma finally learned how to curb his tongue and stop saying the things that were most responsible for making Akane feel both weak and pathetic."

"You mean unfeminine?" Nabiki asked when she looked up to see a waitress had delivered their meals. She waited patiently until the trays were all laid out and the waitress had left before resuming, "I know what really bothers Akane is that Ranma doesn't take her very serious as either a woman or a martial artist..."

"But he still loves her just the same," the older Nabiki replied as she neatly folded her napkin and laid it out upon her lap, "I used to think that was enough, that love would triumph over all, that eventually their real feelings would work them past the hostility and mistrust. Of course that was all a pile of greeting card crap. It doesn't work that way in real life. People don't just spontaneously change and amend their ways without strong motivation. The problem with Akane was that she used violence to avoid having to deal with strong emotional issues. It's how she beats back death, by pummeling the whole world into submission."

"Beats back death?" Nabiki repeated with lifted eyebrows.

"Don't tell me you never suspected," the other Nabiki replied as she picked up an egg role and bit the end, chewing it slowly before smiling and saying, "Delicious...haven't had anything to eat all day. No time, what with rushing from my office to get to here and all that."

"Suspected?" Nabiki's eyes widened, "You mean you know why Akane has these rages?"

"It started around the time our mother died, right?" her counterpart replied as she picked up her chopsticks and snapped them out of their paper package, "Daddy folded up emotionally, Kasumi took over all the domestic chores and went into a state of perpetual bliss, and I...we became withdrawn in our emotions. We took our grief and shoved it right down deep into our souls where nobody could find and hurt us because we needed to be strong, we needed to stay in control, to help the family out in any way we could. Of course Akane took it the worst of all of us, getting angry about death, about having somebody we all loved get taken away from us without any way of fighting back or protecting her loved ones. It did something inside her, twisted her nature in a subtle way so that Akane resolved to never be that helpless in the face of death again..."

"But Akane's been in plenty of danger since then," the younger Nabiki replied, "If anything she's made a habit out of winding up playing the helpless damsel..."

"And who makes her feel that way?" her older self countered, "When Kuno made his declaration that only a guy who could beat her in a fight would be able to date Akane he wasn't anticipating Amazon rules, he was expressing his belief that he'd be the only guy worthy of Akane's attention. In effect he was trying to take the choice away from her because he sensed that she needed someone who could be strong and supportive. The clueless idiot never realized that he was exactly the wrong guy to prepare Akane for the pressures of adolescence. He just set the tone and motivated Akane to fight harder for her own independence...then along came Ranma, who was just so much better as a fighter that Akane might as well have been Kasumi for all the good her skills did her. He made her feel weak and helpless again, and she never could forgive him for that, even after she fell in love with the big jerk. In anything her feelings for him only intensified her feelings of inadequacy, which was one key factor behind her continuous use of violence."

"But you said Ranma learned to behave around her," Nabiki frowned, "Why wouldn't that help?"

"Because violence for Akane was like an addiction," her older self replied between mouthfuls of rice, "And what happens when you try to withdraw cold turnkey from an addiction? Your cravings only get stronger as the need that fuels the addiction increases. Akane never had any resistance to her own temper because she stoutly denied to herself that she had any problem. Funny thing about denial, though...the more you get into the habit of denying, the more you rely on it to avoid taking a serious look at the problem."

Nabiki was silent for a moment, then she cautiously said, "You mean to say that even when Ranma tried not to provoke her..."

"Her mind craved the comfortable addiction of anger and manufactured reasons to get angry," the older Nabiki answered softly, sipping once more from her tea cup, "It took less and less to set her off over time, and soon she was going around in a state of Defcon Four, ready to go off at a second's notice. It didn't even help when she started to learn how to cook better than before, or at least not to set the kitchen on fire, though she never quite was as good as we would have wanted. At least after a while her food stopped being so toxic and she even managed to keep a reasonably clean house, which was a good thing since I'd gone off to College and Kasumi had married Doctor Tofu. Daddy remained a presence in the house but it was Ranma who was teaching classes in the dojo to earn his keep. I only got to stop in every now and then to see what was happening, so I didn't catch on until it was well too late that there was any kind of serious problem."

"Didn't anyone try to help?" Nabiki asked, sensing that there was more unpleasantness to the story.

"Oh sure," her older self replied, "Kuonji was there at the house almost every other day checking up on Ranma to see how he was doing. She never really gave up on him, even after she accepted the fact that Ranma was married and still in love with Akane. Poor Ukyo...what a waste."

"What a waste?" Nabiki felt ice go down her spine as if in premonition.

"Yeah," her older self looked down and did not touch her food for a somber moment, then finally she looked up and replied, "She died almost one year to the day after the wedding protecting Ranma from Akane. She gave her life protecting him when Akane's mind finally snapped, and Ranma's never been able to forgive himself for that. I don't think he ever really knew how much she loved him until that day, though it was obvious enough to anyone else who knew her. The thing that was a surprise to him, though, was how much he cared about her. She died before he could tell her that he loved her, and it's been eating him up inside ever since. Every day for the last nineteen years he's carried that burden inside him, and now he's ready to explode with rage over having forsaken true love for a hopeless marriage to Akane."

Nabiki felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. Ukyo dead? Akane a killer? Ranma suicidally depressed? That latter though shocked her even more and in the horrified silence that followed she gasped, "What...what does he mean to do now?"

"Confront your Ranma with the facts," her other self said quietly, "Try to change his mind about proposing to Akane, and if he fails in that...then he'll probably kill him..."

"Yeah, that's right!" the older Ranma snarled to his stunned counterpart, "She's dead and I killed her! As surely as if I held the katana when it pierced her heart and slit her belly!"

"N-No way!" Ranma stammered, doing something he never had done before in a fight, which was to back away in horror at the icy stare that stood accusingly before her.

"Don't hand me that crap!" his antagonist declared in deadly earnest, "I was there when it happened...and if she hadn't thrown herself in the way...!" his voice caught for a second, but then he snarled, "I shoulda been the one to die, not her! It was to save my worthless hide that she got between me and Akane!"

"N-Nani?" Ranma looked at the other man without comprehension.

"Ucchan stood by me through Hell," the older Ranma was all but shouting, "She was the one who saw all the bruises and marks that I'd been taking from Akane and she tried to get me to seek help while there was still time! She all but dragged me to those meetings where victims of domestic violence got together and made me face the fact that I was trapped in an abusive marriage! She made me face the truth that Akane wasn't getting any better, only worse, but still I kept trying to make it work, to save my marriage, to prove I wasn't an irresponsible husband like Pop, that it wasn't all my fault that Akane no longer smiled and was always going around in a state of perpetual anger. It didn't matter what I did to try and appease her, all I had to do was gag when she fed me something and then she'd snap like dried bamboo! Then she found out about Ucchan taking me to those meetings..."

The older Ranma stopped talking, his body shaking for a solid minute as if the prison of his memories enclosed his mind. His eyes where shut tight as his fists clenched in anger and he started to manifest a black battle aura. When he opened his eyes again they were on fire from within, and when he spoke his words were like an inferno, burning the soul of the witness.

"I never should have turned my back on Ucchan! She was right all along, but I was too stubborn and proud to admit it...and then I lost my pride and I was still too stubborn! I suffered in ways you can't imagine, my body wasting away as I barely had any appetite. It was killing me inside! I wanted so much to make Akane smile again, but she never smiled at me any more! The girl I thought I'd married had turned into somebody else, somebody who I never wanted to see, and it was all my fault! My fault! And then that final argument at the end where Akane grabbed the Saotome Katana, which Mom gave her as a wedding present...!"

The blackness surrounding Ranma suddenly grew to a raging fire that obscured him, but with great effort he gathered his energies into his hands then hurled them skyward in a massive Shi Shi Hokoudan burst that staggered Ranma from the mere backwash. The energy discharge hardly seemed to tire him at all, so when he spoke again there was a frightening calm about his words that was somehow more terrible than before the explosion.

"Ukyo was paying her respects to the house when she heard the sounds of us shouting at each other in the dojo. She got there just as Akane drew the katana and came at me. I...didn't even budge when I saw the sword sink right into my abdomen, I just stared stupidly down at myself and wondered why it didn't hurt so much, and then she yanked it out and was ready to stab me again to finish me off..."

He shuddered, his whole frame wracked by the unvoiced sob he might have given had he not been trained from birth that such gestures were unmanly. The elder Ranma waited until his voice was steady once again before he said, "I think I wanted to die right then, that it was easier to accept death than to go on living the way we had been. I mean, what was the point of it all? We'd lost all of our students, our savings account had sunk to practically nothing, nobody wanted to visit us, not even Ryoga, and all because they didn't want to see the great and powerful Ranma Saotome reduced to a pitiful scarecrow. I'd lost everything, my pride, my integrity...all I had left was my honor, and even that meant nothing to me by then, so I just closed my eyes and tried to will it to happen...I never even knew Ukyo was there until I heard her gasp...and then she was standing in front of me and the sword was projecting out her back, the tip just centimeters from my heart..."

He closed his eyes again and clenched his fists in rage, willing himself to remain firm. He could not weaken now, now when he was close to achieving his ambition. The dream of half a lifetime: of doing it all over, of having a second chance, of making right the mistakes of the past...all of it forced him to open his eyes again, and what his younger self saw was not madness but a kind of sanity that was cold and sober, utterly lacking any trace of either warmth or humor.

"She died saving my worthless life," he declared in a flat tone milked try of all inflection, "To this day I don't know why she didn't simply knock Akane out or use her spatula to deflect the sword. Maybe she didn't have time to think of it, or maybe it was just love that blinded her...love for me, which I could never return because of my stupid oath to my unforgivably clueless parents!"

He began stalking towards the younger Ranma, "All these years people've asked me why I didn't leave Akane, why I stayed with her when the only sane thing I could have done was to sue for divorce! You know what the joke of it all is? The really sick thing that twists my guts just to think of it? It's because I still loved Akane, or thought I was in love with her, when all I could feel for her in the end was simple pity."

Ranma backed away, attempting to keep his distance as he sized up his foe, who was himself in all ways but for the unbelievable horror of his words, which hit Ranma harder than a thousand knife cuts.

"Ucchan's death changed all that," his older self declared when only a few meters away, where he halted, "In one instant I went from pitying Akane to hating her with as much passion as I could feel at that moment. I lost consciousness due to blood loss and woke up sometime later in the Hospital with several days having elapsed and the news that I'd slept right through the funeral they gave Ucchan. Akane was in a mental ward, of course, having turned herself into a vegetable when she realized what she had done to Ucchan...what she thought she had done to me. The ironic thing is that she's the one who called Doctor Tofu before losing it, and if it wasn't for that one simple gesture I would have died for sure. I wanted to, the Kami is my witness."

"So..." Ranma tried to get a handle on the bewildering story he had just heard and failed. His mind simply refused to understand how things could have turned out as badly as what the other man was describing, "So...things didn't work out for you. Why take it out on me?"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when Ranma found himself tumbling backwards from a blow that he had not even seen coming.

"You young idiot!" his older self shouted, "Do you honestly believe that you'll turn out any better than me? If you are that much of a fool, then I'm wasting my time here! You can't make it work any better, I know! I've gone over it time and again in my head and it always winds up the same no matter how I work the numbers."

Ranma was trying to find his feet as the world spun around in circles and he glared at the three versions of the older Ranma who were glaring down at him from a surprising distance, "Ah...okay...maybe I might believe that if I knew for a fact that Akane's going to turn into some kind of a monster after our marriage."

"You still don't get it," his older self said in disgust, "Akane is a rage addict, she has a condition known as Rage Disorder, which causes some people to lash out at the very people they care about. They don't even know when they're doing it because they can't see that they're a part of the problem. What makes you think you can turn her around? You think the power of love is going to reach out and heal her?"

"Well, why not?" Ranma felt his vision clearing a little and made several adjustments to clear himself out so that he could face only one of the opponents, "If love's the strongest thing in the Universe..."

"You think love can't be turned into hate?" the big man suddenly moved and slammed Ranma up against a tree more than forty meters from where they had been standing, "You don't know anything about love, Mister! I've held real love in my hands and I let it go because I was too stupid to realize it! Ucchan paid the price because I wouldn't let it go and dissolve the marriage! I don't know why she never hated me for he hell I put her through. Why, I was even crass enough to ask her to be my Ring bearer! How's that for clueless?"

"Ah..." Ranma said hesitantly, deciding not to broach that subject.

"You want to know what my 'love' for Akane did to the rest of her family?" the older Ranma persisted, "Kasumi had been studying medicine on the side and was helping Tofu out as his chief nurse, so naturally she came along with him when he went to the dojo and found Akane curled up in a fetal position, her hands still red with Ucchan's blood and the Katana laying like an incriminating black glove for anyone who had any doubts about what happened. Kasumi went into shock at the sight of so much blood, and me looking like I'd joined Ukyo in death...it just caused something inside her to snap, maybe guilt because she couldn't save her baby sister. She was never the same person after that, and neither was Tofu, but you could tell by looking that she was very deeply hurt and disappointed. Mister Tendo went into shock and had to be hospitalized, while Nabiki..."

For a moment the older Ranma's voice caught and he could not continue, the tears he dared not cry proving nearly overwhelming, but then he spoke again with effort, "Man, how can she even stand to look at me, knowing what a mess I made of her family and everything? It figures that the last thing Mister Tendo would do before kicking off was to engage me to her since we were the last two members of our families in any kind of shape to carry on the Anything Goes tradition, especially after Mom insisted that Pop 'make restitution for his sins' by holding him to that...stupid contract she had him sign all those years ago! I should have died with him, but no! I had to live to find out what kind of a rotten mess I'd really created, especially after word finally came to me about Shampoo!"

"Shampoo?" Ranma's eyes widened, "Not her too?"

The older Ranma glared a hateful, scathing look that seared Ranma's soul as he said, "Well, what did you think, you moron? You ever give two seconds to thinking about what would happen to her when you decided to marry Akane? You know those rules she lived by? Do you know what the penalty is for an Amazon who fails to carry out the obligation to marry her husband or kill him for disgracing her? It isn't death, it's dishonor for her entire family! Why do you think Cologne fought so hard to try and see to it I honored her great granddaughter?"

"But..." Ranma hesitated, then said, "Those rules were her problem! They ain't got nothing to do with me..."

"Idiot!" the younger Ranma found himself being hoist into the air again and shaken until his teeth started to rattle, "You think you can just dismiss her because she comes from another culture? Just because her rules aren't your rules? That it doesn't matter to her that you tossed her over for somebody who she could break in half if she wanted? You ever wonder about why she didn't kill Akane that first time but used the Xi Fang Giao to seal her memories? Why she didn't kill me the day after my marriage to Akane?"

Ranma found himself nose-to-nose with his counterpart, who glared at him before declaring, "Did you ever even for one second really think of her at all like she was a person? Did you care what would happen when she went back home and faced the other Amazons and had to admit her failure, why she left us alone when we humiliated and disgraced her? You wanna know what happened? SHE KILLED HERSELF! She took her own life, threw herself onto her own sword rather than bring shame to her family or have to live with the knowledge that she'd lost me forever!"

"N-Nani?" Ranma gasped in a tiny voice as he fought to retain consciousness in the face of the other man's anger, which now was burning like an inferno.

"SHE WAS MY WIFE!" the older Ranma roared in such heated tones as he sent Ranma flying...

"Kill him?" Nabiki was vaguely aware that her voice was squeaking but for once didn't care at all about that.

"It's well within the scope of his power," her older version replied while calmly finishing the rest of her dinner, "Ranma learned to kill shortly after becoming a Timecop. It's sometimes necessary in our business to end the career of a major criminal who might just keep coming back time after time if not permanently defeated. I won't even begin to tell you the troubles we've had in that respect with a certain guy by the name of Vega..."

"What are we sitting around here for?" Nabiki was half out of her chair, "We have to stop him!"

"I'm game," her counterpart said calmly, "Got any suggestions.?"

"Excuse me?" Nabiki said in disbelief at how calm her other self was handling matters.

"Understand, the Ranma I know is like a force of nature," that version answered, "You can't argue or reason with him when he gets a mad on, you just get out of his way and hope to find shelter. Besides, it can only do him some good to get it all out for once, to stop holding it all inside like he's been doing ever since he pulled himself together in the hospital. He spent a year in rehab, sequestering himself in a Buddhist monastery, then going on sabbatical seeking to regain his martial arts standing. I had to be there for him to help him get his life back in order. It was my duty and responsibility as his iinazuke, you see, to watch after him and be strong while he tried to make sense of what had happened. Even after all this time he still hasn't fully recovered or been able to forgive himself, he carries it all around and unleashes his rage at any target who gives him sufficient provocation. It was my idea to partner him up with Ryoga since the two are basically so much alike, and Ryo-chan is the only one tough enough to withstand prolonged exposure to Ranma's frequent episodes where he comes close to losing it. You know what a big ego the baka has. Imagine that conceit turned inward and against himself and maybe you'll have some slight notion of what he's going through at this very minute."

"But if he's crazy enough to actually kill his younger self...?" Nabiki tried to argue.

"Why do you care?"

"Huh?" Nabiki blinked, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Little Sister," the older Nabiki gave a hard look to her younger counterpart, "I'm the one who's engaged to marry Ranma and have been for close to twenty years thanks to Daddy forcing me to make that promise on his death bed. I've had time to forge bonds to my Ranma, what I want to know is why you'd give a damn about a guy you've tormented and blackmailed since practically the very first day he showed up in Nerima."

"Ah..." Nabiki hesitated, "Well...he...he is going to be my brother-in-law..."

"Go on," the older Nabiki's eyes narrowed, "Pull the other one. What have I just got through telling you about the marriage to our little sister? Surely you must have a better reason than that."

"What do you mean?" Nabiki asked with rounded eyes.

"Please," the older Nabiki snorted, "Who do you think you're dealing with here? You think I don't know the truth about you deep down? I got a news flash-I WAS YOU all those years ago, I know everything that's going on in your mind right now, so I'm the last person on earth whom you can successfully lie to."

"Ah..." Nabiki looked down at the table and her still-untouched dinner.

"You don't have to hide it with me," the older Nabiki replied, "You care a lot more about Ranma that you let on, and you think of him as exciting because of who he is, what he does, the curse that gives him perspective on both genders and the general basic fact that he's the nicest, sweetest, kindest guy in all of Nerima, bar none! You know what a special sort of person he is, even with all of his personal faults, his stupidity and that monumental ego. You don't like to think about that because it conflicts too much with your hard-earned reputation as an Ice Queen."

"Ah..." Nabiki fidgeted slightly.

"Two years ago you made a horrible mistake," the older Nabiki replied, "You let him go. You allowed Daddy and that brainless cad of a Panda engage Ranma to someone who basically despises him, never trusts anything he says, barely listens to his explanations and generally just beats him up for fun. Smooth move, Sis, a real display of your tactical brilliance, letting yourself get freaked the first day he was here, or sizing him up on the basis of his non-  
existent wallet."

"But..." Nabiki started to say then hesitated.

"You thought he was cute the first second you laid eyes upon him," her older self continued unrelenting, "You even thought his girl form was pretty, but you didn't want to deal with a few issues so you let your one chance for true happiness to slip through your fingers. I'll have you know that I would KILL for the chance to go back and do it all over, even with all the problems that come from being his iinazuke."

Nabiki looked up at her other self and said simply, "You love him?"

"What was your first clue?" her counterpart murmured softly, then her voice took on a note almost of normalcy as she added, "By the way, if you're not going to eat that, mind if I have some of what's on your plate? I'm still famished."

"After what you ate?" Nabiki said incredulously.

"Hey, what can I say?" the older Nabiki snagged a fried Wonton and began chewing it as she smiled, "Oral fixation, remember? It's like Ryonami says, I've just got to have something in my mouth every five minutes or I feel orally deprived. Guess one of these days I'm gonna make some guy really happy."

Nabiki could not help noticing the wistful tone in her other self's voice and said, "You mean you haven't...done it yet?"

"What do you think?" Nabiki sniffed, "I'm one year short of the big four-oh and who have I had to practice with? Kuno? That's a laugh! I used to be crazy over that guy, but the minute he sees Ranma's female half he's gone right over the event horizon. Mousse? Yeah, if he can even see his way to notice somebody other than Shampoo! Not much recommendation there. Ryoga's kind of sweet but he's basically clueless and pretty much happily married to Akari. Then there's always Mikado Sansenin..."

"Him?" Nabiki snorted, "I'd sooner kiss a toad!"

"So you see my problem," Nabiki replied, "Why settle for beef when you can have filet mignon, and Ranma's arguably the cutest guy on the planet if you go by character as well as looks. If I'd chosen him instead of foist him on Akane you'd better believe I wouldn't leave him in any doubt about my feelings."

"But...what about Ranma's safety?" Nabiki challenged, "How can you just sit there so calmly while he's maybe destroying himself outside...?"

"Practice," the other Nabiki said somberly, "It isn't easy, I'll grant you...it's taken me years to get the hang on it. For the longest while I was afraid of letting him out of my sight as I thought he'd maybe resort to suicide to deal with his grief problem, then I finally came to realize that Ranma isn't that sort of person. Deep down he cares about life, about people, maybe even a little about himself, which is how he was able to build himself back from the brink of extinction. In time I've just learned to trust Ranma and let him go live his destiny. It's hard, I'll admit, but the only way that I can really love him is if I give him the freedom to live his own life rather than try to break him to my standards. The thing to keep in mind is that Ranma always wins...always. He never backs down from a challenge, but he always succeeds in turning an opponent's strength against him."

"But there are two Ranmas now!" Nabiki pointed out.

"Yes," her counterpart replied, "Irony, isn't it? I can only wonder which one of them emerges the victor in this clash..."

"Still with me?" Ranma heard those words echoing in his skull where he lay in a crumpled heap, "Good, because I ain't done with you yet, Junior, not by a longshot!"

Ranma coughed, feeling battered and bruised all over as he struggled to get himself into an upright position. The beating he had taken so far had not been life-threateningly serious but it was starting to take its toll on his reserves, which was nothing compared to the battering of his ego.

"W-why?" Ranma managed to gasp out, "Why are you doing this...?"

"Because I'm sick and tired of carrying around the pain of being you!" his other self replied, "You're such a pathetic little whiner, you don't have any clue about what you do to other people. Bad enough you take Ukyo's friendship for granted and treat Shampoo like dirt, but you can't even face up to the responsibilities you have accepted!"

"I didn't...I didn't know about Shampoo," Ranma managed to say, "I didn't think she was the type..."

"No, they never do seem like the type," his older self replied sadly, and suddenly Ranma felt his hair being seized as he was physically dragged onto his feet by his opponent, "But you think that makes a difference to her? You're blowing it, man! You're screwing up people's lives and you don't even have a clue! Maybe if you thought about somebody other than yourself sometimes..."

Ranma grabbed the bigger man by the wrist and attempted to throw him but the tactic failed as the other Ranma held his ground as though his feet were nailed to the concrete.

"That's it," his other self replied, "Get it all out, show me what kind of a Man among Men you are. That used to mean so much to me...but where did that feeling go?"

With almost contemptible ease he lifted Ranma and hurled him over his shoulder and into a brick wall.

"Guess I just stopped thinking it was important," the older Ranma said as he turned around to confront his stunned opponent, "I mean what kind of a man lets his friends suffer because he can't make his mind up about life? I mean, what are you doing with your life, guy? All these fights, trying to be the best, training yourself every day to face the next big challenge, and meanwhile life is just passing you by. If you're not too careful you'll wind up turning into me, and believe me you don't want to have that happen. It's not a fate you'd wish on your worse enemy."

Ranma grunted at that and tried to form a coherent rebuttal but the repeated assaults to both his mind and body were starting to penetrate through his mental defenses as he lay where he had fallen sucking in wind and regathering the fragments of his fighting spirit.

"Gee, I'll bet you're wonder, 'What is this guy going on about?'" his future self helpfully said, choosing to talk instead of finish the engagement, "You wonder what's so bad about being me. I mean I'm the toughest guy you've ever gone up against, I eat scum like Herb and Saffron for breakfast. I'm undefeated in over a million different realities, but you know what? It means nothing to me! Nada, zilch! I've got nothing left to me but fighting! Always endless fighting!"

He knelt down so that he could continue to speak in an almost friendly fashion, though his words continue to hammer home with the same merciless intensity as before, "Let me tell you what I am, Junior...I'm walking death! I'm unstoppable power! I can level mountains and change the course of mighty rivers, and I hate it! That's what you've got to look forward to if you don't get it all together and do it right this time, and by that I mean no way do you marry Akane!"

The older Ranma lifted his gaze and for a moment his expression almost became wistful, "I can remember that day we first met...kami but she was so cute in that faded yellow gi of hers. She challenged me to spar in the dojo and I whipped her ass hands down. Of course I wouldn't do more than lay one finger on her, but she was a girl, and I was taught that fighting girls was unmanly. Not that it stopped me from kicking Shampoo off that log, mind you, but the whole idea of hitting Akane just made me feel queasy.

"I never could understand why she resented me so much over that, but now I know it's because I was hurting her pride by refusing to fight. In effect I was saying that she wasn't good enough for me to take serious, it used to drive her crazy! Before me she was the toughest broad in all of Nerima, but then I show up, and then Ryoga, Shampoo, Ukyo, Mousse and...well...it's like we were this exclusive club of powerful fighters and she was only an honorary member. No matter what she did, or how hard she trained, she never seemed to be able to compete with us as any kind of serious contender.

"But by then the real problem wasn't her fighting skills, it was the rivalry that was going on between the two of us. From the minute she walked in on me while I was taking a bath and realized that I was a guy she could not separate me in her mind from that one moment. I used to think there was something wrong with her even then when she started calling me a pervert...I mean, who walked in on who when we were both naked? She never let herself see it that way, of course, since I was officially the enemy, a boy, and therefore by definition a Pervert.

"I didn't really warm up to her at first either, partly because of the Macho way she was acting and partly because I couldn't get it out of my mind that she was this crazy, angry chick who was picking fights with me over what I thought was nothing! I mean, the whole engagement thing wasn't even my idea, and I certainly wouldn't have picked her on the first try. It was only later when I started to feel something, when I began appreciating that she was really trying, that she was a pretty decent fighter in her own right, and that she had this really cute side with a smile that could make me feel warm and fuzzy inside...well, you'd think a guy like me would feel lucky to finally have someone who wants to spend time with him and do stuff we could both enjoy together..."

The older Ranma sighed and his chin fell as he looked down, "Yeah, I let myself begin to believe that there might even be a chance for us both, but my problem was that I just couldn't stop my fool mouth from running off and saying stuff without me thinking about it first. I was really cruel to her and so obnoxious that I can't even bear to think about it! I put her down for every little attempt she made to become a better cook or a fighter, insulted her femininity whenever I thought she was cute, got jealous when she gained some new advantage, like with the Super Soba Noodles, and basically acted like a jerk in a thousand little ways that added up to mental torture, so why shouldn't she return the favor? What you sow you reap, and I reaped the effin' Whirlwind!

"And why did I do it? Hell if I know! I just remember feeling so...uncomfortable every time I started to lower my guard and think of Akane like she was a real woman. When I started to feel something for her it scared me so bad that I had to do something to keep her at arms length. Insults were my way of maintaining my independence, of keeping it all down, bottled up inside me, the feelings and emotions that Pop always said were unmanly, like he knew anything about being a man," the older Ranma snorted, then his tone deepened again as she added, "How could I not know that I was doing to Akane the whole time was poisoning her against me? It was unbelievably selfish, and I deserve some of what happened to me because I made her into what she became. If it wasn't for me Akane could have been a different person...she might even have been happy!"

The hateful glare returned to Ranma-senior's eyes, "And you...jerk-off! You're the reason all of it happened! All of it! Akane's slow descent into madness, Ukyo's self-sacrifice, Shampoo's suicide..."

"N-No way!" the younger Ranma said, "You're blaming me for stuff that ain't even happened..."

"Guess again, Junior," his older self leaned forward, "It's already happening right now. It's too late for you to mend fences with Akane. Even if you marry her she's never gonna forgive you for what you've been doing to her for the last two years. Ukyo's going to decline just by watching you suffer through a loveless marriage, and Shampoo...you think she's some kind of brainless idiot for loving you? She must be, but you know what? She doesn't deserve to suffer the fate you're forcing her into, to choose between life and killing either you or Akane. Even if she took Akane out of the picture she knows she can never have you, so what do you think she does about that? She puts on a brave little fa ade calling herself the happiest girl in all of Nerima and manifesting a personality that just gushes out her love for you! You don't deserve her, Man, you know that and that's why you always keep her at a distance!"

"But it's those rules," Ranma gasped, "Those stupid Amazon rules..."

"You think the rules are why she's after you, baka?" the other Ranma said with disgust, "Guess again! She wants you for who and what you are, the rules were just there to point her in our direction. You never could get past the fact that you thought it was only the rules that were making her love you. You didn't trust her because she's underhanded and sneaky, because she thinks like a Cat and her cursed form scares you. Funny thing is you both have a lot more in common than you seem to realize because you've both been trained to be the best, and she's the only girl in all of Nerima who's anywhere near to being your equal as a fighter."

The younger Ranma did not have anything to say to that. He sat where he was and looked thoughtful. This prompted his older self to continue, "You want to know why I'm doing this? Why I'd give up everything I know, believe or have worked for the last two decades? It's because there's only one thing that gives my life any meaning, my honor! At the moment I don't really have any honor, nothing left that I give a damn about, and even my life is pretty meaningless without the people that I care for. What have I got to lose by trying to make a difference in the past? You think you're in hell because of your curse and all the girls chasing after you, but I got news for you: I'd do anything to be where you are now, the chance to do it all over!"

The older Ranma sighed, and for a moment much of the anger drained out of him as he said, "It's too late for me, man. I've been through hell and I didn't actually survive it. I died that day when Ukyo took it in the heart to protect me. All I've done since then is just get by from moment to moment. I haven't really known what it is to feel happy in all that time, not after all the stuff I've done, the people I've killed, the enemies I've put down...all of it's just been stuff I do to help prove that I'm still living..."

He closed his eyes again and pain returned to his features, "I vowed that I would never let anyone get caught up in the same mistakes as I made. I can't stand to see anybody suffer like I have, not for some mistaken idea of loyalty and honor. You're engaged to marry a Tendo because your Pop says it's the right thing to do, and your mother thinks it's so manly. I've always wondered why they were so insistent that I get hitched to one of the Tendo sisters...did you know the very last thing Mister Tendo did on his death bed was to re-engage me to Nabiki...?"

"But...I don't understand," Nabiki gasped, "How can Ranma change his own past? Wouldn't altering things affect his current existence?"

"You've been watching too many bad episodes of Star Trek," her older self retorted, "You can't really change your own past, the quantum signature keeps you from interacting with your own timeline. To objects with the same signature can't occupy the same space at different times, it causes Probability Paradox and it's disruptive to the system. We travel between worlds in terms of space and time by going sideways as wells as forward and back. It is not possible to go back and, say, kill your own ancestors so that you were never born, you can only go back to a close parallel of yourself and eliminate the you from that timeline."

"So why is Ranma doing this?" Nabiki asked, "If he can't really change anything..."

"Not for himself, obviously," the older Nabiki replied, "But by coming close to our home signature he can affect one of the worlds parallel to our timeline, and that's where he gets the potential to change things. By creating a new timeline out of the potential that exists already..."

"Create a new timeline?" asked Nabiki with raised eyebrows.

"In a manner of speaking," the older Nabiki replied, "But what I really should say is that he means to redirect the flow of time so that it reflects an altered reality that will take shape from the raw stuff of its potential. You see...every moment of existence we have many different choices we can make, and any one of them can affect the course of our future. Those alternate pathways exist in potential, but only a few of these many choices can be realized, much like a blank sheep of paper has the potential for all the classics of great literature ever invented. It's only when the print is set to paper and the dark lines are etched there that a timeline is finalized. The future is always in motion..."

"Yeah, I got that part, Yoda," Nabiki said in mild sarcasm, "But if you can't really predict the future..."

"Oh, I could check to see which alternate future timeline is going to be yours once the coordinates harden," the older Nabiki replied, "It's a lot easier to do at my station at Central Control, but I have methods just as reliable at my disposal. I'm not quite the helpless damsel you are when it comes to dealing with a crisis. Just as Ranma has his resources...so do I have mine."

As she said this she brought the palms of her hands almost together and seemed to focus on the space between those palms, where a golfball-sized sphere of light appeared. She banished it a few seconds later then casually linked her fingers and smiled the type of smile you might find on a cat named Cheshire.

"H-How did...?" Nabiki gasped.

"Magic," her counterpart said before returning to finish what was left of her diner, "Or Chi-force manipulation, if you will. There is an ancient Amazon discipline called the Lore Masters, which I apprenticed in during a period when I had nothing better to do. I'm quite good at it now, it comes in handy when working with timetravel."

"You're a Mage?" Nabiki gasped.

"No," her older self said patiently, "I said I am a Lore Master. There is a fundamental difference, but that really isn't very important right now. As a matter of fact," she glanced at the strange watch dial she was wearing, "I'd say we've wasted enough time here. Come along, and have them put what you didn't eat into take out containers. You're going to have quite an appetite when this business is over, believe me."

Nabiki looked at her counterpart and said, "I thought you said you didn't know my exact future?"

"Some things don't take precognition to know in advance," her older self said sagely as she got up out of her chair and waved to a passing waiter, "You just have to know how to read the tea leaves."

As Nabiki got up to follow the example of her strange companion she chanced to notice that the cup her older self had been drinking had been drained and was sporting a few tea leaves, which same seemed to be forming a letter in kanji. She started to frame her next question, then thought better about it. Instead she hurried to catch up with her companion...

Continued.

Comments/Criticism/Clerical Typeface in Tealeaves: shadowsmane

Wonder where this thing is going next? Keep wondering as the plot begins to thicken...be there!

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	8. Chapter 8

RanBite7

Realities Byte

By Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others,  
With special thanks to my fellow fanfic writers on both the Convergences &amp; Altered Destinies Series)

Chapter Seven.

Bleak Horizons.

Reality #24968173

"That Baka, Ranma," Akane fumed, "Just like him to be late after telling me to be here at three thirty. What do you suppose the pervert is up to now, Ukyo?"

"Beats me, Sugar," Ukyo replied somewhat morosely, staring listlessly into her cup of tea and thinking to herself that she would not mind waiting longer before seeing this day finally happen.

"What could be taking him?" Akane stared down at her own untouched plate of Okonomiyaki, "He said it was important. You have any idea what he wanted to talk about?"

"For the fourth time, Akane," Ukyo growled, "He'll be here. If Ranchan-I mean, if Ranma says it's important then it's important. Would it kill you to just trust him for once?"

"Huh?" Akane looked at the sour-tempered Okonomiyaki chef and said, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Ukyo ran her hands over her tired features. It had been a long, sleepless night and she was feeling irritable and cranky. Ever since she and Ranma had that serious talk the night before it had been like she was going through the day on a purely mechanical level, doing what she usually did as if on automatic pilot. Nothing made sense anymore, and all she knew was that she wanted to get the day over with so she could suffer her depression in silence.

In spite of herself Akane was worried about Ranma. He had so many enemies always challenging him to fights, and sometimes he only won by a small point factor by either tricking or intimidating his opponents. Akane would not admit to it aloud but she was often frightened that Ranma would one day encounter a foe too strong for him to handle. Of course being Akane she could not even admit this to herself, so she covered for her concern by manifesting annoyance at his typically rude and thoughtless behavior. She hardly gave any thought at all to the way Ukyo was looking at her sadly or she might have suspected the reason and felt buoyed by it immensely.

"Akane..." Ukyo began to say, "There's something I've got to tell you. About last year...at the wedding..."

"Oh?" Akane blinked, looking up, "What about it? You've apologized maybe a hundred times since then. Forget about it. It was just a dumb idea of our parents trying-like always-to force Ranma and me into marriage."

"I just want you to know, strictly for the record, mind you," Ukyo swallowed before continuing, "If I had to do it all over again...I wouldn't...you know...?"

"You wouldn't try to kill me?" Akane smiled, "I know. You were just upset with the timing, it was such a surprise to everybody, and if my idiot sister hadn't given away those invitations then Ranma and me would probably have been stuck married before we were ready for it. If anything you and Shampoo gave us an excuse to call it off for another time. Besides, do you really think I want to marry Ranma that badly? Don't beat yourself up because of that baka."

Ukyo felt her depression grow. She wanted to pound the table at the injustice of it all. Here was her arch-rival for Ranma's affections being nice to her and all she could feel was the irrational urge to do something violent. Akane didn't deserve that, though, so she tried again to say, "Akane...about what Ranchan wants to tell you..."

A sudden explosion shook the near-empty restaurant causing both girls to forget what they were about to say as they rushed to the nearest window and stared out into the street. Sure enough they caught the backwash of a black Chi-burst that was aimed skyward and had a similar reaction. Almost as one they said the name, "Ranma!"

"He and Ryoga must have gotten into another fight," Akane said as she headed towards the door of the restaurant, only to discover it was still locked from the inside, "Hey, let me out, will you?"

"Right behind you," Ukyo replied, having only paused long enough to retrieve her Bakers Peel from where it customarily hung above the grill. Slinging it over her back, Ukyo produced a set of keys and said, "Whatever those two have gotten into this time, we'd better not sit around waiting to hear about it later."

"Honestly," Akane growled as the door was opened to admit them both out, "Sometimes I just wish those two would grow up and learn to behave."

"You and me both, Sugar," Ukyo agreed, "But somehow I don't think either one of us will live long enough to see that..."

2.

Continuum #72489164

Roll Call:

Spring Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #30197682 Akira Hibiki-16, Son of Spring &amp; Godai Hibiki from Continuum #30197684

Ranko Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma and Akane from Continuum #29715382

Lylac Tendo -17, Daughter of Nabiki &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #59343921 Shamran Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #59343921 Ryokoma Saotome-15, Son of Ranma &amp; Ukyo from Continuum #59343921 Fragrance Kuonji -16, Daughter of Perfume &amp; Ukyo from Continuum #59343921

Watazashi Saotome -16, Daughter of Ranma &amp; Kodachi from Continuum #29457180 Yuan-Yen Tendo-16, Daughter of Mousse &amp; Nabiki from Continuum #29457180 Takane Kuno -16, Son of Tatewaki Kuno &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #29457180 Razor Hibiki-16, Son of Ryoga &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #29457180

Rinse Saotome-17, Daughter of Ranma &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #472193567 Yinra Saotome-16, Daughter of Ranma &amp; Akane from Continuum #472193567 Yangra Saotome-16, Son of Ranma &amp; Akane from Continuum #472193567 Tachi Kuno -17, Daughter of Tatewaki Kuno &amp; Nabiki from Continuum #472193567 Ryoukio Hibiki-16, Son of Ryoga &amp; Ukyo from Continuum #472193567 Belldandy Tofu-16, Daughter of Ono Tofu &amp; Kasumi from Continuum #472193567 Ivory Kuno -16, Daughter of Mousse &amp; Kodachi from Continuum #472193567 Brand Tendo -16, Son of Mousse &amp; Natsume from Continuum #472193567

Storm Saotome-17, Son of Ranma &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #37944326 Lightning Saotome -15, Daughter of Ranma &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #37944326 Godai Hibiki-17, Son of Ryoga &amp; Akane from Continuum #37944326 Ryonami Hibiki-16, Daughter of Ryoga &amp; Akane from Continuum #37944326 Towel Kuonji-16, Son of Mousse &amp; Ukyo Kuonji from Continuum #37944326 Incense Tendo-16, Daughter of Perfume &amp; Nabiki from Continuum #37944326

Okami Saotome-17, Son of Ranma &amp; Ukyo from Continuum #59342718 Kimiko Tendo-17, Daughter of Kasumi &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #59342718 Chameleon Kurenai -16, Son of Tsubasa &amp; Nabiki from Continuum #59342718 Kanazuchi Taro-16, Daughter of Taro &amp; Akane from Continuum #59342718

Kengo Yatai Kuonji-17, Son of Ukyo &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #60429381 Jonma Saotome-17, Daughter of Ranma &amp; Ukyo from Continuum #60429381 Twilight Saotome -16, Daughter of Ranma &amp; Shampoo from Continuum #60429381 Dai Yen Tendo-16, Son of Perfume &amp; Nabiki from Continuum #60429381 Kimiko Hibiki -16, Daughter of Ryoga &amp; Akane from Continuum #60429381 Rui Hibiki -16, Daughter of Ryoga &amp; Akane from Continuum #60429381 Takomo Arigami-16, Daughter of Keiko &amp; Natsume from Continuum #60429381 Eidolon Kuno-17, Daughter of Sakura &amp; Kodachi from Continuum #60429381 Minos Taro -17, Son of Taro &amp; Kasumi from Continuum #60429381 Belldandy Taro-16, Daughter of Taro &amp; Kasumi from Continuum #60429381 Dragon Tendo-16, Son of Mousse &amp; Kurumi from Continuum #60429381 Chi Kuno -17, Daughter of Tatewaki Kuno &amp; Ayako from Continuum #60429381 Sachio Kuno -16, Son of Kuno &amp; Ayako from Continuum #60429381

"Hello?" a solitary voice called out, "Is anybody there? Where the hell am I?"

Rui Hibiki was suffering an all-too-familiar experience for her, being lost and without a clue as to where she was in relationship to her surroundings. At the moment those surroundings were a large, bleak backdrop that seemed to suggest the barrenness of the Soul, either that or urban blight on a massive scale. And only moments before this she had been wandering through the cafeteria looking for her homeroom class by checking out the kitchen.

"This is weird," she said, looking around at the ruins of buildings and the signs of entire city blocks having been leveled by some massive cataclysmic event, like maybe her Dad getting into a brawl and wasting more Furinkan real estate than was usual for this time of the season. It was really weird not being able to recognize anything because very little of it was left standing, and so she could not even tell what city or province she was in without the usual landmarks upon which she depended.

"Isn't anybody here at all?" she shouted for the fifteenth time since the world had gone blue without warning, heralding her arrival in this desolation, only this time her efforts were met with an answer.

"Who wants to know?"

Rui whirled, looking up to the top part of a jutting outcrop of building upon which a figure was perched in a catlike manner. Before Rui could ask who it was they executed a leaping tumble and landed with perfect grace a short distance from her. The stranger was very lovely with long brown hair and tall with a lean, athletic build and strangely vivid blue eyes that seemed to be checking her out as they roved up and down Rui's body as if taking an inventory.

"Nihao," she purred sensually, "My name is Fragrance, Kuonji Fragrance. And you are?"

"Uh..." Rui blinked, Kuonji? This lady was related to Jonma and Yatai? She recovered from her surprise enough to say, "Rui, Hibiki Rui...uh...do you know where we are?"

"Haven't the slightest," Fragrance shrugged, "Which is not usual for me. The destruction seems to be many years old, though if I had to guess I'd say this was the Furinkan Financial district, only a few blocks away from my Mother's restaurant."

"Your mother has a restaurant?" Rui wondered why Jonma had never told anyone about having another sister who looked anything like this!

"I just said that, didn't I?" Fragrance sounded more amused than annoyed as she turned to sniff the air before saying, "Ah...the others are that way. Good, I was starting to get worried."

"What others?" Rui asked, wondering what other surprises she was in store for.

"I don't know all of them by names," Fragrance replied as she started off in a certain direction, then paused to look back, "A few are my sibs, the rest I've just met. Are you coming?"

"Ah...sure," Rui said, picking up her pace to catch up with this other girl, realizing that it was better than the alternative of wandering around blindly. This Fragrance seemed to manifest a confidence about the way she moved that suggested that she knew exactly who she was and where she was going. That was a novel thing where she came from, so she picked up the pace to try to match the one set by this tawny haired huntress...

"What the hell...what did you people do to me?" demanded Ranko.

"Me?" replied Rinse as she also looked around at the surrounding ruins, then turned to see what looked like the nearby coastline of the ocean as she protested, "What the hell makes you think I did this?"

"Well, who else is there?" Ranko snarled as she assumed a fighting crouch in preparation of renewing their assault, "This all started when you and your friends intruded on my property!"

"Your property?" Rinse sniffed, "Since when?"

"I'm the heir to the Anything Goes school!" Ranko declared, "The Tendo Dojo is my inheritance!"

"Well, big deal!" Rinse retorted, "It's mine too! And why the hell are you yelling at me for?"

"Because you're here!" Ranko cried, preparing to attack the other girl as Rinse assumed a fighting crouch to meet her half way.

"Oh brother," said Yaun-yen as she and two others happened upon the scene, "Here we go again."

"Are those two always like that?" asked the indigo-haired Twilight.

"Near as anyone can tell," Yuan answered.

"Well, maybe we should break this up?" said the purple haired Lightning, "I'd be happy to make a go of it."

"Don't bother," Yuan said as she shrugged out of her borrowed shawl, no longer needing it in this warmer climate, "This one is on me."

She assumed a fighting crouch of her own while her two companions looked at her in puzzlement, and then Yuan gestured with her hands and suddenly chains flew from where she stood, appearing miraculously as if from no where. They caught around Ranko's waist while Rinse dodged the other chains, then Yaun yanked hard and drew the redhead off balance. Ranko staggered a few feet before breaking the chain with one well-placed hand strike, then both girls turned to regard the bikini-clad girl standing with legs braced and arms folded.

"How did you do that?" Twilight asked in amazement.

"Trade secret," Yuan replied, "Now are you two gonna behave or do I have to wrap you up like a pair of mummies?"

"Neat trick," Lightning mused, "Hidden Weapons school, right?"

"Hidden Weapons?" Ranko exclaimed, looking the near-naked girl over, "Where do you hide something on that?"

"You mean aside from the obvious weapons on her..." Rinse started to say, but Yuan glared at her as if daring the purple haired girl to complete that sentence.

"Hello?" somebody called out, "Is anybody here beside us?"

"Takane," Yuan turned and waved towards one of the figures moving down a trail along the ridge facing the ocean, "Over here, Cousin!"

"Yuan?" the bare-chested Samurai asked as he pushed his way towards the gathering, "There you are! Have you seen Watazashi?"

"No!" Yuan's tone fell, "Not for close to an hour. I'm so worried, Takane-  
chan...where do you suppose she is?"

"If I know Watazashi, she's probably up to her nose in trouble," Takane sniffed, turning to greet the others before taking notice of Ranko, "Well, hello...what have we here?"

"What are you, the lifeguard?" Ranko sniffed, taking in the tall boy wearing bikini briefs, wooden clogs and a borrowed silk robe that was not tied by any sash.

"Where have you been?" asked Tachi as she took in the sight of the Purple haired Rinse, "I've been so worried about you!"

"You have?" Rinse asked her cousin in surprise.

"Sure," Tachi smiled as she sauntered up alongside the taller girl, "You owe me five thousand yen, remember? I've got to look after my assets."

"Oh," Rinse noted with raised eyebrows.

"Anybody got a clue to where we are?" Kimiko asked, taking notice of the purple haired girls who looked surprisingly a lot like Shamran.

"Not a one," Rinse answered, turning to Tachi, "How about you?"

"Well," Tachi drawled, "Off hand I'd say we were on a world where conditions are so radically different from our own timeline that nothing we are familiar with has any relative basis to serve as a reference. In fact, the absence of any other people but those in our group would imply that this area is uninhabited and quite likely hostile to most forms of life..."

"Hostile?" Yuan asked, then shivered for reasons that had nothing to do with the climate, "You don't think there's anything that might be dangerous to us, do you?"

"I don't really know," Tachi admitted as she took in the sight of her underclad Paratime sister, "Are you afraid there might be something here that eats little girls like you?"

"Little?" Yuan bristled, "I'll have you know I can kick ass with the best of them! Just ask Takane."

"Kick it or lick it..." Takane started to say when he caught the dangerous gleam in his cousin's eyes and said, "Never mind."

"Oh my," Twilight smiled, giving Yuan an amused side-glance, "You two are cousins?"

"On my mother's side," Yuan growled without humor.

"Keep in mind," Tachi began to say, "The amount of devastation we're seeing here could have been caused by a nuclear war, in which case there might be lingering radiation..."

"What?" Ranko spoke up, "Radiation? What are you talking about? Who are you people?"

"No need to worry about that!" a voice called out to them as the turned to see two more arrivals, "I don't smell any radiation, and the signs I have seen suggest something else caused this."

"Incense?" Lightning brightened, "If you're here, what about Storm and the others?"

"We haven't seen any others just yet," replied Yatai, "Mind explaining to us how we wound up here, wherever here is?"

"We're still sorting it out," Rinse replied, turning to her cousin, "Tachi...it's obvious that something very bad happened on this world, but what besides a nuclear war could have wiped out all the people and done this much damage?"

"Well," Tachi stroked her chin with a thoughtful expression, "Offhand it could be..."

Incense suddenly stiffened and pointed, "Look!"

"Eh?" Takane looked where the Amazon had pointed and blanched, "Uh oh..."

"Huh?" Rinse and Ranko said in chorus, also turning to see the appearance of a looming shadow that detached itself from the ruins and began to pad along on all fours, looking for all the world like a lizard of some sort, only of a size that dwarfed credibility, nearly a hundred feet long from nose to tail and defying easy classification.

"Eh...him?" Tachi blanched, going very pale of a sudden.

"Would this be a good time to run?" Lightning asked.

"Can you think of a better time?" Twilight answered.

"RUN!" Yatai cried, and nobody argued the point as they all took off in the direction opposite to the dragon...

"This is not one of my better days," mused Watazashi grimly, "Not only am I taken from my home, from the side of my beloved, but I am being thrust from one world to the next without rhyme or reason. If I thought it would do any good I'd consider calling upon my lawyers."

"I doubt they're keeping office hours here," Storm replied, "Looks like parts of Tokyo after the big disaster hit, possibly even after the Earthquake of 2016. If this is Japan, as I'm thinking it might be, then the seacoasts are much more inland than they used to be since the melting of the polar ice that flooded our world and caused a mass evacuation of the coastline."

"It sounds to me as if your world has known its share of troubles," Watazashi mused, "Our world had a 7.2 Earthquake hit a couple of years back but it wasn't enough to cause this kind of widespread devastation. There is hardly a building that is untouched or left standing. Whatever did this was very thorough, but it does not resemble the type of damage one might expect of a Nuclear conflict."

Storm eyed the dark haired girl in her borrowed Amazon clothing and said, "That is a remarkably sage analysis, little Sister. I'd conclude much the same thing...there's no signs of blast damage, no melted glass or smell of radiation. If a bomb had caused this it would have radiated out from a central locus and created an environment far more hostile to life than this is."

Watazashi returned the regard of the purple haired boy and said, "You are remarkably perceptive for a child of Shampoo's, but then your mother appeared to be much more sage and attentive than the Amazon I know from my own time. A pity we both are so closely related and I am fairly committed to my significant other, you are quite an interesting man whom I might like to know better. Tell me...brother, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Not as yet," the other boy shrugged, "I know a girl I'm interested in, but so far I've not really had cause to make my mind up."

"You must tell me more about her," Watazashi said as she turned away, "After we find out what became of the others, if we may assume that there are any others who might have been sent here with us."

"If they are, we'll find them," Storm nodded as he, too, turned away, "Then maybe you can tell me about this person you're interested in, little sister. Is she that special to you?"

Watazashi stiffened slightly, "How did you know that my love is a she?"

"Just a hunch," Storm smiled, "You don't seem too shy about mentioning her, so I take it you feel pretty secure in your relationship."

"We are...very close," Watazashi's tone became faintly wistful, "We grew up together, we know each other's thoughts intimately, how each of us feels and thinks on a fundamental level. It is not always easy to explain to others, and some people are not very understanding or resent us..."

"Not me," Storm sniffed, "Amazons are not that judgmental by nature, and I've watched my little sister enough to know how she feels on meeting new people. She was pretty fascinated with your group, especially that boy, Akira..."

"The Hibiki child," Watazashi sighed, "I should have known that a kinsman to Razor would one day be my undoing. I suppose we should start looking in case he and that other Amazon is also here. They have our only means of transporting ourselves away from this hell hole."

"I'll second that," Storm replied, "This way, we'll start along the coastline and work our way inland. We're bound to run into somebody that way, and then we can work the rest of the city in a grid pattern..."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Akira said, "This is all my fault. If I'd been more careful in using the pendant..."

Spring said nothing immediately, just looked around with a numb kind of expression upon seeing the ruins that had replaced her Amazon village. The boy beside her, Godai, was also taking the site in with sober scrutiny, but unlike her he seemed to have some notion of what the devastation signified as he murmured aloud, "This has to be what's left of Nerima after Second Impact. I've heard stories about the seas rising after the melting of the ice, but..."

Spring turned to regard the boy whom Akira kept referring to absently as his father. Was this the man she was somehow fated to marry? To be certain he was tall and good looking with a body that seemed very alive and healthy, and he had shown good manners that had impressed her greatly, but other than a name what else did he have in common with the Godai who must in principle exist on her own home dimension?

"What happened?" she asked, "What is this...second impact?"

Godai shrugged, "Hard to say, really...there are different accounts I've heard told by the Elders. One story has it that a meteor struck the south pole and caused the flooding that wiped out half the worlds population...of course the North pole also melted at the same time, so I guess that doesn't make a lot of sense. The other story has it that something woke up in the south, like a God or Demon who had been sleeping away the millennia, and triggered the disaster, which supposedly fulfilled some kind of prophesy for the end of the millennia. I'm not too sure which one I believe, I just know that there's been some talk of fighting Angels or Monsters or aliens of some sort. We've had enough of our own troubles just dealing with the rise of a warlord who calls himself the Mandarin and his threatening all the inhabitants of our province. He's a serious enough threat that the Musk and have allied with us and Prince Saffron of Mount Phoenix..."

"How is it possible for him to threaten all of us?" Spring asked, "The Amazons of your world have such incredible techniques as I've only heard about in the legends of my world..."

"That's because of our current matriarch, Soon-Li," Godai replied, "She's my grandmother on my mother's side, though she's actually my mother's foster step mother. Soon-Li is one of four legendary warriors who are each masters of a different Elemental School of Amazon Warrior discipline. My mother teaches the Wind school, cousin Storm is a student of the Lightning school, which he learned from his mother, both masters of the Storm School Ryu..."

"I see," Akira mused, "I've heard about the Storm School, but I thought it was just a story told by my great, great, great grandmother before she passed on to her ancestors and my grandmother became the new Matriarch. I guess in a way you're actually more like my uncle than my father..."

"Father?" Godai looked puzzled.

"Look," Spring said patiently, "We have to find the others. Now, whatever caused this disaster, it's a good bet that at least some of our party followed us over here. Now I still have the pendant, but I don't know if I can use it to locate them..."

"Oh," Godai said, "Then I can help out there. Take my hands both of you."

"Huh?" Akira asked, seeing the large youth offer them both a hand, and when he saw his mother reluctantly accept this, he followed her example.

"Now, hold still and let me concentrate," Godai replied, closing his eyes and seeming to relax while they each held one of his hands.

Spring was about to ask the boy what he was doing when suddenly a wind kicked up, blowing her long pig-tailed braid back while the young man's hair stirred, as did the short haired Akira. The wind seemed to collect around them, forming a tightly focused cyclone, and then a curious thing happened...the ground began to fall away from beneath their heels. Spring gasped in dismay as she tightened her hold on the dark haired boy's hand and looked down, seeing the ground slowly fall away from beneath them, and soon they were ten meters into the air and continuing to rise as if invisible hands were gently lifting and supporting them against the pull of gravity. It was an amazing display of Chi-force technique, and without even having to resort to the Hiryu Shoten Ha to achieve such elevation.

As they soared higher up they could see more details regarding the ruined buildings and devastated city blocks, which showed no set pattern save that every tall structure had been uniformly leveled. As they drifted above the mass, however, they began to see human shapes moving about the rubble and several of these looked somehow familiar. Akira raised his voice to gain Godai's attention and said, "Over there! I see something big moving!"

Spring was about to ask her alleged son what he meant by that when she heard the roar and looked up to see a hundred foot long lizard moving rapidly on all fours in pursuit of a group of fleeing tiny shapes. Godai had opened his eyes by this point and saw the creature, but rather than evidence surprise what he said was, "We'd better go over there and help them. That looks like a True Dragon, way too big and nasty for anybody but me and Storm to handle."

Spring clenched the boy's hand in disbelief as they began to drift in that direction. She was figuring from his statement that the boy was either very brave, very foolish or perhaps more powerful than she had imagined, the latter case which caused her to wonder about him with more than speculative interest...

"What the...?" Minos asked as he and the odd party accompanying him heard a rumbling noise from just around the next street corner.

"What the hell made that?" asked Shamran.

"Sounded like a dragon," said a girl with dark hair braids whose name was Ryonami.

"A dragon?" a fourth figure said, that selfsame boy who moments before had been disguising himself to resemble a lawn, but now looked more like he was covered with debris to make himself look more like a part of the rubble, "Maybe I can help out. If I..."

A sudden stampede of people running in a tangential line to their position cut him off. They were followed a moment later by a huge, lumbering grey-green shape that made the sound they had heard before while pursuing a dozen frantic youths with possibly hostile intentions.

"Oh by," said Belldandy, "Was that the dragon?"

"Omigosh!" the camouflaged boy exclaimed, "That Twilight it was chasing! We've got to help them!"

"Not to mention the others!" Shamran stated just as frantically then amended, "At least I think they looked familiar..."

"Ah...I'm game to help out," Minos said nervously, "Only...like, how? That thing looked bigger than a freight train!"

"Quick," Dragon said, "I need to splash myself with some water!"

"This isn't the time to cool off, guy," said Ryonami.

"Don't argue with me," Minos reached behind himself and pulled out a canteen, "You're lucky I was saving this for myself. Do your stuff, Dragon ol' buddy."

The boy took the canteen and upended the contents on himself, and suddenly his dimensions expanded outward, causing Shamran and Ryonami to give back with startled exclamations.

"Oh my," Belldandy Tofu remarked, "You have a Jusenkyo curse, how novel."

"It does the trick sometimes," the creature seemed to say in their minds, stretching out his wings to beat air as he reared back and prepared to leap.

"Just one problem," Minos pointed out, "It's about ten times bigger than you. What are you gonna do about that?"

"I'll think of something," the transformed youth replied, "Twilight's in danger, that means that sucker is toast!"

With a leaping roar the twenty-five foot long dragon took off after his lumbering counterpart with claws extended, intending to wreck mischief.

Meanwhile, farther ahead, another group was pausing to contemplate the charging mass of people being stampeded their way by several thousand tons of angry reptile. It did not help when the creature unfolded a pair of leathery wings and made a noise calculated to shatter glass in a twenty-mile radius. Fragrance covered her sensitive ears and winced then said, "Ow! Tone it down a little, will you?"

"That's Kim coming our way!" Rui announced happily, then her expression fell as she added, "Where's Takomo?"

"Here I am!" called a voice from the other side of the street, causing Rui to turn away and ignore the giant lizard.

"Tachi-chan!" she cried happily and started running to meet the redhead half way across the rubble-strewn roadway.

"Great," Kimiko huffed between breaths and she watched her twin's behavior, "It figures they'd pick a time like now to do the hugs and kisses..."

"If you don't mind, could you put a little more speed on it?" Takane asked from right behind her, "That thing is gaining on the straightaway..."

"Tell me something we don't know!" cried Rinse.

"Who are you people?" Ranko screamed as she sought to gain ground on the fleeing Purple haired warrior.

All of a sudden a dark shadow swooped over their heads heading in the opposite direction. Both Kimiko and Twilight halted in their run to see the small dragon swooping upon the larger, which caused Takane to collided with Kimiko and go down in a heap while Twilight said, "Hey, isn't that Dragon?"

"Huh?" Yatai turned around, "That crazy fool, what the heck does he think he's doing? He can't fight that creature!"

"Looks to me like he's making a good show of it," Lightning replied as she, too, halted in her tracks to watch the streaking form dive-bomb and harass the much larger dragon.

"Oboy," Incense remarked, "I sure hope the little one hasn't bit off more than he can chew on."

Dragon was doing his level best to pester and harass the much larger dragon, and for the first few moments he held the advantage of surprise, but it took only a moment for the larger dragon to rally, then it got a lucky swipe in that knocked the smaller Dragon sprawling. It reared back its head as if readying to finish him off while Dragon was stunned upon the ground, only a second later something collided with its jaw and knocked the huge head sideways.

"Take that, you big bully!" cried Lightning as she lived up to her namesake, launching another bodily attack at the creature to distract it from its prey while giving Dragon a needed moment to recover.

"My word," said Dai Yen as he and a group of other remaining youths trotted up to join the main group, "She certainly is a spirited lass, even for an Amazon. Her speed even surpasses that of my Fama."

"She hasn't got a prayer," said Yuan-Yen, "That thing's too big and too tough to go down no matter how many times she nails him. We need a plan to take it down."

"Hey, what are we doing standing around here for?" Rinse cried, "Anybody here know any useful Chi-attacks?"

"Well," replied a girl named Chi, "Now that you mention it..."

All at once the question became academic, for from out of no where the creature was suddenly assaulted by bolts of lightning that struck it repeatedly in the face and sent the dragon reeling.

"Get away from her!" cried the boy named Storm as his fists crackled with power before he unleashed another lightning discharge that again caused the dragon to recoil, roaring its protest.

"Big brother!" Lightning cried, "Your timing's just right for once!"

"Sorry it took a moment to find you, Little Sister," Storm said as his power level tapered off to a mere static discharge, "But it figures you'd try to hog the limelight, like always."

Lightning stuck her tongue out at the purple haired youth while Watazashi leaped forward to confront the dragon. Her hands became a blur as suddenly bowling pins appeared in the air to batter the creature repeatedly until it backed away to put some distance between itself and these new tormentors.

Just as it seemed to be rallying its strength a new assailant arrived, kicking up a massive wind that drove the monster farther back as though facing a small, localized hurricane. Godai dropped down from the air in a controlled descent, still clutching the hands of his two companions, only Akira took that moment to free himself, preferring to drop the remaining distance.

"Akira!" Spring cried out, only to discover that she need not have feared for his safety.

"Power Wave!" the purple haired boy cried as he struck the ground upon impact, creating a large crater around himself with his legs wide-braced to absorb the impact.

An incredible shockwave shook the earth like a seismic wave aiming for the horrific creature. It was caught dead center in the middle of the escalating tidal force as the ground erupted where it was standing, causing it to stagger and fall as if felled by a massive hammer.

"Whoah," Ranko said, "Who is that guy?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you," Tachi answered.

Spring touched ground outside of the crater created by Akira, turned to look at the boy and said, "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Oh," he shrugged, "Here and there, Mom, just something I picked up in my travels..."

The Dragon roared as it reared back onto its hind legs, spreading its wings wide as it bellowed its protest at the rude treatment it had been receiving.

"Ah...got any more tricks like that up your sleeve?" Godai asked Akira in a disquieted voice.

Before the question could be answered another, much louder noise answered the first, causing the Dragon to whirl around with what would have been a look of alarm upon a human. The sound echoed again, only this time the huge beast whirled about and started moving its massive bulk as fast as it could limp, spreading its wings to beat the air to give it extra momentum.

"What the hell?" Watazashi murmured faintly, just one moment before turning around at the onrushing approach of an enthusiastic Yuan-Yen.

"'Zashi!" the near naked girl cried as she buried herself into the arms of the other woman.

"Well, that certainly clears a few things up," Dai Yen murmured faintly, "I haven't seen that much excitement since Fama came back from her last trip to China."

"Um, excuse me?" Shamran said nervously, "I hate to be the wet blanket here, but does anybody know what it was that frightened off that dragon?"

"Which dragon?" Kimiko asked as she fussed over the recovering Dragon while Twilight looked on in amusement.

The roar was heard a third time, only now there was a rumbling in the ground as if something huge were in motion, creating a mini-earthquake in passing. All heads turned to see a form looming over the tops of the ruins at a considerable distance, but moving rapidly closer until no one could be left in doubt about the nature of this new arrival.

"Oh Kami," said Fragrance, "What's he doing this far from Monster Island?"

"Excuse me?" Tachi asked faintly, "You know this bruiser?"

"Who do you think it is?" Minos swallowed, "Ain'cha ever been to the movies?"

"It's...Gojiro," Ryonami murmured faintly.

"Gojiro?" Yatai gasped, "You've gotta be kidding!"

"Gee," Fragrance said in a thoughtful tone of voice, "I wonder if this means Baby is somewhere about? Sure would be great to see her again after all this time..."

"What are you talking about?" Incense turned to look at the girl who so strangely resembled her, "You mean to say you've seen him before?"

"Several times, mostly when I was younger," Fragrance said, "My Mom's got a link with his Mate, and she's taken me several times to see Monster Island...hey, I just had a thought! If the icecaps are melted, then that means part of the island must've been flooded!"

"Nice guess!" a voice called out to them, "You can all stand down! He won't harm you people, he's actually quite gentle to anything as small as a Panda!"

The sound of two dozen heads turning at one time brought the attention of the collective group swiveling around to confront an even larger number of figures being headed by a single very tall woman whose pale blue-green hair and distinctive hairstyle marked her for an Amazon. She was surrounded by female warriors and the remaining members of their party, one of whom broke from the pack and came rushing up to embrace the dark-haired Chi with a whoop of joy, crying out, "Chi-chan! You're all right!"

"Whoah!" said Chi to Jonma with a grin, "Don't tell me you were worried...again."

"Uh oh," Fragrance said, standing at battle-readiness, "Oneechan?"

"Fragrance!" Lylac called out, "It's all right! They're hear to help us!"

"Who the hell are you, lady?" Ranko asked.

"Your ride out of here," the sea-green haired woman replied, turning to the others and saying, "My name is Lao Kung, Captain General of a ship I have waiting in the harbor, and if you wish to vacate this area before any more monsters show up I suggest you all hurry. We don't have much time before someone else comes along to protest this intrusion into their territory."

Everyone collectively exchanged looks, then Rinse shrugged and said, "Well? I don't think we're doing anything better at the moment, do you?"

No one had a reply for that, so as one the group filed in to join the other party...

Continued.

Comments/Criticism/Coherency restored next few chapters: shadowmane

Out of the Frying Pan into the Harem? Stay tuned and see how the sucker gets resolved...be there!

If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: . or it's mirror site at: ~ All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.  



	9. Chapter 9

RanBite8

Realities Byte

By Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others,  
With special thanks to my fellow fanfic writers on both the Convergences &amp; Altered Destinies Series)

Chapter Eight.

New Resolutions.

Reality #24968173

It was with a heavy heart that Cologne regarded the interior of the Nekohanten, the restaurant that had-in all respects-been like a home away from home during the nearly two years that she had stayed in Nerima. It would be a sadness to leave it all, the place had so many memories, but after the events of the next two weeks she was fairly certain that those memories would be forever tinged with bitterness, failure and tragic disappointment.

Cologne had enjoyed every minute of her stay, and she had few regrets for the part that she had played in the adventures of the young people who had come and gone so frequently across her threshold. For someone of her extreme age it had been a place of novelty and surprise, two commodities very rare for an Elder. She would soon turn her back on all of that, though. The affairs of the Nyanichiczu required her back home in Joketsuzoku.

Vacation time is over, she thought sadly, time to get back to work as Matriarch of a small provincial village that had been largely untouched throughout the centuries of outside progress. Never mind that her rule of the Amazons would be forever touched with the bitter taste of failure. She had given it her best effort, which had proven inadequate in the long run. If anything her earlier hamhanded efforts might well have doomed the entire mission by poisoning her prospective Son-in-law against her.

Cologne spared a moment to look up towards the second floor where she knew Shampoo would be in her room, crying her eyes out where no one could see her. Cologne had no wish to share the pain of her former heir and greatest failure. She would allow her to grieve, knowing that Shampoo would put on a brave face for their return home to face the fate that awaited her. She felt both pride and sorrow at the loss of such a promising young warrior. Such a waste, such a pity...

Cologne leaned against her gnarled wooden staff and sighed, letting her age seep into every poor and crevice. The Saotome boy had defeated her at last, she could freely admit it to herself now. For all the efforts that she had made to tempt his interest in the Amazon way, Ranma had stubbornly clung to his independence, insisting on his right to refuse his obligations to Shampoo, siting their laws as foreign customs which could not apply to him as he had his sights set upon the Tendo girl, to whom his heart had been freely given. Cologne had seen the depth of their attraction but had never truly understood it, or perhaps never allowed herself to see before, until it became plain to anyone that Shampoo had lost her husband to another woman, which was the shame that would now doom her.

Frankly Cologne had never understood the attraction. Shampoo would have made a loyal, devoted wife and supported Ranma in his quest to become the best of his potential. Akane Tendo, by sheer contrast, belittled and intimidated Ranma and often resorted to a level of abuse that would have shocked any Amazon. The girl was out of control, a slave to her own violence, a waste of a fighter whom Cologne had long ago judged to be flawed in some fundamental sense that kept her from achieving what ought to have been her natural potential.

In a way Akane was the vengeance Cologne would never have wished upon the poor, clueless Ranma. A marriage to that girl was bound to be eventful, perhaps even lethally so, if she judged correctly. Akane was not a stable person, and there was something about her that gave Cologne unpleasant feelings. What an irony if Ranma should defeat his greatest enemies only to be brought low by the woman he had chosen to be his wife. A greater irony if Ranma would fight so hard for his right to choose, his freedom of choice, only to discover in the end that choice had long ago been stolen from him, that the path he followed was made for him by fools blinded by their own petty visions...

Of a sudden Cologne felt her psychic alarms go off as the hackles on her head stood on end as if from electrostatic tension. There was a force-wave, someone channeling vast amounts of raw Chi, energy being unleashed all at once with no specific target in mind, and waves of grief and rage a thousand times more intense than the blackest thoughts that had ever crossed the mind of Ryoga Hibiki.

Without warning the door to Shampoo's room flew open, and then the Amazon in question appeared at the top of the stairs with a frantic cry of, "Great Grandmother...!"

"I already sensed it, child," Cologne replied, hopping on her staff towards the door, "We must investigate at once! Come!"

Shampoo was already hard on the heels of her elder, barely pausing to retrieve her footwear. It might be only a momentary distraction from her grief, but they both sensed that somehow Saotome Ranma was involved, and all things concerning him were still of immense interest. In the back rooms they could hear Mousse stirring, making the effort to follow, but there was no great surprise in that. Even someone as dull witted as Mousse would have no trouble sensing a disturbance of this magnitude, which had to imply that those with even duller wits would not be far behind in reacting...

"Saotome..." Tendo said as he looked up to see the black pillar of energy jetting towards the sky.

"I see it, Tendo-kun," Genma replied as he secretly removed a piece from the board before turning to look in that direction, "Looks like the boy's made a new enemy."

"We should investigate at once," Tendo replied before pausing to notice the position he was in, so it was no accident that he "accidentally" tipped the board over while getting to his feet, "Oh, how careless of me!"

"What in the world?" Nodoka asked as she, too, took notice of the black energy spire that was even then fading out of existence.

"I think Ranma-kun is in trouble," Kasumi remarked as she paused in the act of hanging up the laundry, "Shall we go have a look?"

Nodoka had already retrieved her katana from the place where she kept it ready, "We don't want the boys to have all the fun, now do we?"

Kasumi smiled and went to grab her purse. She had a sneaking hunch that they would soon be paying a visit to Doctor Tofu...

Ryoga was worried. The fight had gone on a lot longer than he ha thought it would, but there was never any real doubt over who would prove the stronger contender. Ranma had been all over his past self like rice on a wok and it was almost pathetically painful to witness.

He wanted so desperately to wade in there and pry his partner off before he did his past self too much damage. Already the collateral damage to their surroundings was awesome, yet Ryoga knew Ranma was not even using a fraction of his full potential. It was obvious even to him that the intent was not to kill Ranma's past self but to simply pound him into submission while berating him verbally, a tactic Ryoga had seen and suffered from on too many occasions not to appreciate in detail.

At least so far there had not been a very sizeable crowd. Ryoga had done what he could to discourage witnesses and the police from intruding on the altercation. It was fortunate that the people of Nerima were the veterans of so many such fights that they almost took it in stride that this was another day in the life of Saotome Ranma, but there were a few whom Ryoga knew would have a vested interest in watching the fight closely, like his own past self or...

"Hey, what's up, Sugar?"

"Oh, hi Ukyo," Ryoga said matter of factly before doing a double-take, "Ukyo?"

"Huh?" Ukyo said as she and Akane turned to look his way and each got very wide-  
eyed expressions on their faces.

"Ryoga?" Akane gasped, an incredulous look in her eyes as she found herself craning her neck higher than usual to meet his expression.

"What happened to you, Sugar?" Ukyo's tone denoted more than just casual interest.

"Ah...well," Ryoga winced, "I'm not really who you think I am..."

"Oh," Akane breathed a sigh of relief, "You must be a family member, then. Are you Ryoga's father?"

"My...father?" Ryoga began to laugh nervously as he felt the back of his head with one hand, trying to come up with a semi-intelligent answer.

"Hey, who's that Ranchan's fighting?" Ukyo suddenly reached up for the handle to her Baker's Peel, "Did he hurt my Ranma-honey?"

"Uh-no!" Ryoga laid a hand to Ukyo's shoulder to steady her, "You don't want to do that. Let Ranma handle this his own way, we shouldn't get involved. Besides...it looks like things are quieting down now."

"Well, quieting or not, I want to see what this is all about," Akane said before her expression darkened, "Ranma better have a good explanation for why he thought this fight was more important than standing me up on our date..."

Ryoga was about to experience a panic attack when a voice cut in and said, "Oh, give it up, Ryoga-kun. There's no point in hiding the truth now, might as well get everything out into the open."

"Nabiki?" Ryoga felt incredible relief flood through him, one second before he took notice that the other Nabiki from the past was with her. The startling sight of younger and older versions was enough to draw both Ukyo and Akane away from the plight of their Ranma as the younger Nabiki shuffled her feet nervously looking back at both women.

"Hi," the older Nabiki smiled without humor, "We need to have ourselves a little Pow-Wow, girls, and just as soon as Ranma finishes up with his end we can get down to business."

The younger Nabiki's eyes turned to regard the two forms huddled on the ground together, one leaning over the other almost a hundred meters distant amid the remains of a warzone. She inwardly shuddered to think of the potential for devastation revealed by this future version of their Ranma and she began to wonder more than a little if maybe events were proving greater than even her futuretime self could reasonably handle...

"Nabiki?" in spite of everything Ranma had so far heard this latest revelation was like a blow to the stomach.

"Nabiki," Ranma-senior affirmed, "Akane was in the hospital under Suicide watch believing that she'd killed me, and Kasumi was hardly all that much better. Nabiki was the only one still able to hold it together, but she'd had a lot of practice holding it in so the added strain was just a new form of challenge. We're all that's left of the old gang, you see, her, Ryoga and me. Mousse disappeared only to resurface later when he tried a final time to kill me. Cologne turned her back on me and said I was no longer worthy of her attention. Her last living heir had just died, her family was devastated, so of course who could blame her? So it was decided by our folks that Nabiki and me should marry to carry on the stupid dojo, but neither one of us gave a damn about that anymore. We just agreed to go along so that we wouldn't have to argue about it. I turned my back on Mom and Pop when I went on walkabout to get my skills back together, but somehow no matter how far I go or what I've been through Nabiki has always managed to find me."

The older Ranma looked up at the sky and sounded strangely wistful, "Man...I don't really understand her. How can she still care about me after all this time, all that's happened? I wrecked her family, destroyed whatever future happiness she might have had and still she manages to find the time to bail me out time and again whenever I get too deep in my own crap. Nabiki's a real wonder, man...nothing like the old days when she used to lie, cheat and steal from me for fun and profit. I know she's a special person, I've known it for years, but how can I ask somebody like that to forgive me for the kind of jerk I've been? For making a mess out of everything by making her choose between her pride and her anger? She deserves so much better than what I can give her..."

He sighed and got back to his feet, looking down at his younger counterpart with clear blue eyes alight with pain and resolve, "So the time's come for you to make a decision, Junior, what's it gonna be? You gonna go ahead with your scam to marry a Tendo, or will you pick somebody who really loves you? Shampoo or Ukyo, I don't care, just as long as you don't pick Akane."

The younger Ranma was silent for a time but finally he spoke up and said, "I don't understand...I don't know about any of this stuff. How do I know that you're on the level? You could be another trick of Cologne's sent to fool me..."

"You don't really believe that," the older Ranma said, "And when was the last time she tried to trick you, huh? You even hear one word out of her regarding the marriage? Why do you suppose that is? What do you thinks about to happen?"

"Cologne?" the younger Ranma gasped, "Shampoo!"

"You're finally thinking," the older Ranma sniffed, "Maybe there's hope for you yet. There's still time to make a difference in her fate, but at the end of two years her Amazon traditions kick in and she has to answer to the Elders of her tribe for why she wasn't woman enough to win herself a husband. Before she brings that kind of dishonor on herself she'll take her own life, and then you can be happy."

"Happy?" Ranma flashed a look of disbelief.

"Yeah," the older Ranma sniffed, "You can be rid of her for good. She's nothing more than an annoyance to you, a pest who won't leave you alone. Well, you're about to get your wish, old buddy, and once she's done the deed you'll never have to worry about another glomp from her...forever."

"Shut up!" Ranma snarled, rising to his feet with renewed fire in his expression, "I won't let that happen to her! Not to Ukyo, not to Shampoo and not Akane!"

"Hello," the older Ranma tapped his younger counterpart on the forehead, "You think you can have it all your own way? You'll just wind up doing what I did if you don't..."

"It's not gonna be like that!" Ranma snarled, "I'm never gonna be like you! I've heard enough about how rotten your life was and what you went through and how you think you've got to make it right by pounding it into me! Well, that's too bad! I'm sorry for you, but that's not gonna happen! I'm not gonna turn into you and come back here and do the same thing all over!"

"Yeah?" the other Ranma scoffed, "So what are you gonna do? You gonna keep your promise to Pop? That'll doom everyone! Real manly."

"You think I'm a complete idiot?" Ranma shouted, "You really think I'd be doing this for him?"

"Yes," the older Ranma said, "I think you'd do anything to redeem yourself in his eyes, to prove to him that you are a Man among Men like he wanted. You'd also like to please your mother, who may have rescinded that Seppuku pact she and Pop had us sign, but she's still hell bent and committed to seeing you marry Akane. You telling me you really want to disappoint them?"

Ranma did not answer that, maintaining his silence while he appeared to be thinking it over.

"This is very important," his older self said, "You have to be willing to stand up to them, to insist on what's right, to risk breaking Mom's heart and defying both Pop and Mister Saotome. Do you really have the guts to do all that, or are you just gonna play along and let yourself be railroaded into marrying whoever they want you to marry?"

Ranma lost some of the edge of his anger as he said, "You really think they'd do that?"

"Think it?" the older Ranma snorted, "Hell, I guarantee they'll do it. They can be stupidly obsessive and insensitive about these things. Where do you think we inherited it from? They always assume that everything they do is for the best, that the ends justify the means and that everything will work out in the end if we just go along and do what they tell us. The question I'm asking is if you're gonna let them get away with it?"

Ranma looked at his older self, seeing the haggard lines and sunken brows for the first time as confirmation of the seriousness of what the man was saying. Still not ready to concede the battle he asked, "Well, what would you do since you're so smart?"

"No way, Junior," the older man sniffed, "It's your life, your call, you get to mess it up yourself. I'm just laying the cards out and letting you make your own decision."

"Then why'd you start the fight?" Ranma asked, "Why not just come out and tell me in the first place?"

"Hey, would you have listened to me if I did that?" the older Ranma countered, "I used to be you, remember? I know how serious you take good advice when it's offered. I had to do this just to make you appreciate what was at stake here. Besides, it's not like I did you any real damage. You're already healed back to where you were before I met you. That's the way it's always been with me...that which doesn't kill me just makes me stronger."

"What's going on?" a voice intruded on their conversation, "Ranma? What is the meaning of this? Who are you...?"

"Pop?" Ranma gasped, looking up before the other Ranma could begin to turn around, "Mister Tendo?"

"Uh oh," Ryoga winced as everyone approached the scene of the diminished battle, including a certain father.

"Oh hell," the older Nabiki murmured, seeing the expression on the older Ranma's face.

"Hello, Pop," that Ranma growled while smiling a smile that had neither warmth nor pity.

"Ranma?" Saotome Genma gasped, unable to comprehend the look in the older Ranma's eyes, "How..."

That Ranma made a fist and pointed it at Genma as he roared, "DIE!"

Nabiki blinked as she felt her counterpart suddenly make a strange hand gesture before she faded out of sight and appeared an instant later in the space directly before Genma. Her older counterpart raised her arms in the form of a ward and the black energy that shot up Ranma's hand struck an invisible barrier and was instantly dissipated.

"Nabiki!" the older Ranma cried as he lowered his arm, then without any sign of transition from one moment to the next he was suddenly at Nabiki's side as she staggered and collapsed to her knees. The older Nabiki did not appear physically harmed but there was pain in her expression as she fought to control her own reactions.

"What the hell?" Ukyo gasped.

"What's going on here?" Akane could not keep looking from one Ranma to the next.

"Son-in-law?" Cologne remarked before she could remember to correct herself, having arrived in time to witness the brief interaction.

"Aiyaa," Shampoo murmured, "Is Ranma in two place? Why other Ranma look so old?"

"For that matter, why is he trying to bump off his old man?" the younger Nabiki wondered.

"It's simple," Ryoga said a bit sadly, "There's only one person Ranma hates more than himself, and that's his father."

"Nabiki," the older Ranma said as he steadied the shoulders of his Timeline's Nabiki, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Dammit, Saotome," Nabiki managed to grate, "That hurt! You pack a hell of a wallop..."

Ranma started to sigh in relief when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up only to find his younger self gripping him by the arm as he was drawn to his feet, then a powerful uppercut staggered the larger man, who rocked back a half-  
step before recovering his defenses.

"Jerk!" Ranma spat at his older self, "What the hell were you doing? You could have hurt someone, maybe even my Pop!"

The older Ranma felt his lip then smiled, "Good one, Junior...you're learning, and for your information that was the basic general idea."

The younger Ranma looked stunned, "Why?"

"Because I can't do the same to my old man," the older Ranma glared at Genma, who recoiled at the intensity of that stare, "And it was you who screwed up my life, old man! It was YOU who insisted I marry a Tendo! You who dragged me over half of China and got me cursed! What the hell were you thinking? Did you ever think at all? And you-!" he gestured with a finger at Soun Tendo, "You have no idea what you put me through, Tendo-san. You both were always so hell-  
bent on me marrying your daughter, did you ever once stop to think that Akane and me might not be right for each other?"

"What?" Akane staggered as if punched in the stomach.

"Son," Nodoka said, half in surprise, half appalled as she looked from one version of Ranma to the other.

"Oh yeah," Ranma turned his icy stare in her direction, "I'm not forgetting you either, Mom. You and your ideas about what makes a man Manly. You know what kind of a man I am these days? Huh? Do you...?"

"That's enough!" Nabiki lurched to her feet again, giving the older Ranma a hard look before saying, "We all know you've had a hard life, Saotome, now put a zipper on it. You've made your point, so shut up!"

"Nabiki?" Soun's voice shook as he stared at this older and far more mature version of his daughter, turning to look back at the expressionless younger Nabiki.

"You shut up too!" Nabiki whirled on him, "Ranma's right when he says that you're as much at fault as anybody here, Daddy! I've carried the torch for you long enough, now you're going to listen! This has gone on long enough, now all of you listen to what I say! The engagement between Ranma and Akane is annulled as of this moment!"

"WHAT" Akane immediately protested.

"How...dare you..." Soun's voice shook and tears welled up in his eyes, "My own daughter..."

"That's not going to work this time, Daddy," Nabiki eyed the man coldly, "You're the one who insisted on the marriage as a Tax shelter so Ranma can inherit the dojo and we can keep it in the family. Don't even try to pretend with me that there's any loftier purpose behind you railroading Ranma and Akane."

"Father?" Kasumi turned a puzzled look towards Soun, "Have you any idea what Nabiki is talking about?"

"Inheritance laws, Sis," the older Nabiki said, "By ancient laws dating back to the days of the Samurai it is customary for a family every three generations to lose most of their property in taxes so that the grandchildren have to build their fortune up all over. Daddy was afraid that the dojo would pass out of family hands after he died, so he wanted Genma's son to inherit it so that the Anything Goes school could go on another generation. That was one of the reasons you and Uncle Genma made that stupid pact in the first place, isn't it, Daddy? You bartered one of us away in the name of family tradition. Because Kasumi and me weren't willing to be gulled you passed the buck onto Akane."

"Is this true, Dad?" Akane asked.

"It sure sounds possible," the younger Nabiki said in an eerie echo of her older self.

"Father, how could you?" asked Kasumi in wounded tones.

"And that's the real reason you agreed to it, isn't it 'Uncle?'" the older Nabiki's tone was bitingly sarcastic, "When you married Aunt Nodoka you fully expected to get a share of her family's wealth, but her parents wouldn't have anything to do with you and wrote you out of their will, so you had to find your own nest egg and set your eyes on using Ranma to inherit the dojo. You figured to live on easy street if he married one of us and took the dojo over. Of course Ranma could only do that if he were a superior martial artist, which is one of several reasons that you decided to train him to be the very best."

"But I..." Genma stared to protest, but one look from Nodoka and he decided to be quiet.

"So let's strip the whole deal away from all the lies and romantic pretensions for a minute," Nabiki resumed, "And let's look at why our fathers are so insistent that you, Ranma, should marry a Tendo."

"I've been wondering the same thing myself," Ukyo noted.

"Hiyaa," Shampoo agreed, "Angry, violent Akane no seem like good choice for Ranma."

"What do you mean?" Akane frowned, "Why shouldn't I be a good choice? Who are you two to pass judgement on me?"

"We're the ones who really care about Ranma-honey," Ukyo said, "You're the thug who beats him up for the least little reason."

"Why you...!" Akane made a fist and advanced on her two rivals, only to be spun around by the older Nabiki, who easily stepped past the smaller girl's guard and brought her hand up across Akane's face in a slap that seemed to echo about the clearing.

"W-wha...?" Akane gasped as she staggered backwards.

"Listen to me you selfish, self-centered, self-righteous little witch!" the older Nabiki roared into Akane's face, "If you had any idea about the kind of Hell you put me and every other member of our family through you'd do well to keep back out of my way! I'm tired of carrying on for you with all the grief you've caused me! You don't own Ranma, you never did, and you sure as hell don't deserve him, what with the way you've been acting!"

"W-what?" Akane paled and looked to be on the verge of tears.

The older Nabiki got control over her temper and spoke at a more even level, "You're not the one for him, Akane. You never were. The two of you are a lot alike in ways, but all the complimentary parts are the wrong things to bring with you into a marriage. Ranma may have a lot of growing up to do, but you're slowly turning into something that scares the living hell out of me, so you back off right now and take a good, hard look at what you've become and what you're doing!"

"Nabiki," Ryoga came to stand beside her and Ranma, "It's no use. We don't have the right to decide. This isn't our timeline, even if the history of this moment is the same as it was for us all those long years ago."

"R-Ryoga?" Akane stared at this adult version of the perpetually lost boy and saw Ryoga turn clear brown eyes to regard her with compassion and affection..

"It's all right, Akane," Ryoga smiled, "We forgive everything that's past. I know Ranma wants to tell you how he feels, but even after close to twenty years...well, who can blame him for keeping his silence?"

Akane turned to see that the older Ranma was looking away from her, staring at the ground with an unreadable expression. Ukyo and Shampoo took that moment to approach him, and when Ranma looked up to face him they saw the raw emotion in his eyes as he regarded each one in turn, his grief so infinite that it was beyond simple expression.

"Ukyo," he whispered with bitterness, longing and regret, easily matched by his tone when in the next shuddering breath he said, "Shampoo..."

"Son-in-law?" Cologne asked as she more hesitantly approached, forgetting her oath never to call him that again as the lure of the raw power he emanated drew her in like a moth to an inferno.

As Ranma looked on the ancient Amazon he almost smiled in spite of the tears that were in his eyes, "Old Ghoul...you swore you'd cut out my eyes the next time we met, or you will say that to me...in a couple of years."

"Did I then?" in spite of herself Cologne was intrigued with this new Ranma, and not simply because his Chi was so strong that it rippled the air around him. There was sadness and wisdom in those eyes the likes of which could humble even an Elder.

Akane was shocked at seeing the tears on the older Ranma's face. Her Ranma never cried! This could not be him! Ranma was too proud, too stubborn to do anything so humbling. She half expected him to apologize in the next breath, and when he did so she was doubly shocked beyond her understanding.

"I'm sorry," Ranma turned around to address his mother, "I shouldn't have yelled at you. It was rude and thoughtless, Mother. I ask that you forgive me."

"Son..." Nodoka looked as if she were beside herself, turning her gaze from one Ranma to the other. She could see the same manly lines in his handsome profile, but what else had been done to him to bring about such changes? In most respects he was the son she had always wished for, but the bitterness and doubt he had expressed earlier, coupled with his accusation, made her wonder if she were in some way at fault for whatever had caused him to want to kill his own father.

It was Nabiki's turn to speak, laying a hand on Akane's shoulder as she said, "Okay...all right...so you guys came from the future to warn us about what might happen if Akane and Ranma marry. So what if she gets help before it's too late? Will that change things and make them wind up better?"

"Get help?" Akane turned a puzzled look towards her older sister.

"You need help, Akane," the older Nabiki said, "You can't go on the way you are. If you keep turning in on yourself you'll eventually explode from all that anger you keep bottled up inside you."

"Bottled up?" the younger Ranma replied, "When did she ever keep anything bottled up...?"

"Quiet Junior," his older counterpart sniffed, "The only reason Akane hits people like us is so she doesn't have to face what's really bothering her. We're just a convenient focus for feelings of inadequacy, and the longer she takes it out on us the longer she can go on denying what's really making her unhappy."

"Ranma's right," Ryoga said, his eyes on Akane once again, "You've got to stop running away from what's bothering you, Akane, or it's going to eat you alive from within. Believe me, I know that it feels like. I had my own issues to work out before I finally learned to live with my problems."

"Imotochan," Kasumi spoke up, "Do you know what's been bothering Akane?"

Despite herself the older Nabiki seemed amused to be called "little sister" by Kasumi, "I do, Sis, but it's up to Akane to come out and admit it herself. She has to face what's bothering her inside or she'll never be any good to anyone, least of all any guy she does marry."

"Huh," Ukyo sniffed, "So Akane has issues, huh? That's nothing new."

"Shampoo always think Akane too angry and violent for Ranma," Shampoo agreed, "But what make her like that?"

"I see," Cologne remarked as she looked from the past to the future versions of Ranma and Nabiki, "I, too, have long sensed that there is an imbalance in Akane Tendo's Chi, but apparently the problem is even more severe than I imagined."

"You're all crazy!" Akane declared in a somewhat defensive tone of voice, "There's nothing wrong with me! Why are you picking on me like..."

Nabiki tightened her grip on Akane's arm, "Because they're right, Akane...and they care what happens to you. I care, too, and...I think it's about time we faced the facts. You're just not right for marrying Ranma."

"How can you say that?" Akane whirled on her older sister with hurt and betrayal in her eyes, "Nabiki, You're my sister...!"

"That's right," Nabiki's tone firmed, "I'm your sister, and I should look out for you. You need help, Akane. Things can't go on the way they've been going lately..."

Akane hauled off and slapped Nabiki, who staggered back from the impact. Ranma cried out and was there to catch the middle Tendo girl before she could lose her balance, helping to steady her, much to his own surprise, as well as Nabiki's.

"Oh, well done, Sis," the older Nabiki said from right behind Akane, but when the younger girl whirled about and threw a punch at her gut Nabiki's hand intercepted her wrist and halted it in mid-motion.

"I rest my case about you," Nabiki glared down at her younger sister, "And it's only going to get worse. You can't put off facing this any more, Akane, you have to deal with this or it'll destroy you."

"Deal with what?" Akane snapped as she tried without success to free her arm from the iron grip of the Nabiki from the future.

That Nabiki compelled her to meet her gaze as she spoke a single word, "Mother."

That had the desired effect. Akane seemed to lose all strength as her eyes went wide and her face drained of color. Nabiki-Senior released her arm and Akane staggered back to massage her wrist, only to find herself being steadied by the older Ryoga, who alone seemed to have no hint of hostility towards her.

"You have to let go of the past," the Nabiki from the future said as she closed her eyes and sighed, "You can't pretend that there was anything you could have done to keep Mom from dying. It's not your fault, Akane, it just happened. Death comes to us all in good time, it's a necessary fact of life. We have to take some comfort in the belief that some part of us lives on beyond the death of the body. Mom's spirit watches over us all, you know, we're her legacy, we have to protect and preserve the Tendo Wa, the harmony that was taken from us with her death. What good does it do to get angry if all you wind up doing is destroying everything she wished for us and our future?"

Akane seemed to be fighting back tears as she said, "Why are you doing this to me? Don't you think I want to make mother proud? I want to be just like she was..."

"But you're not," the older Nabiki replied, "You're a unique, individual person, Akane, you're what Mom might have wanted in a son. What does it matter if you can't cook or sow or clean house like she could? That doesn't make you any less of a person. Take pride in being strong, it's what you're good at, and maybe if you let go of that anger you carry around inside you it may even be possible that you could one day become a great martial artist."

"Listen to her, Akane-chan," Ryoga urged from behind her, steadying her shoulders with strong hands whose comfort was meant to support her, "You don't have to carry the anger around inside you like I did for so long. I wasted so many years wanting to tell you about how I felt, but I never had the courage..."

"How you...felt?" Akane was stunned by the admission.

"I was in love with you back then," Ryoga said sadly, "Before I met Akari, before I chose to marry her, you were the center of my world, the one bright spot in my lonely existence..."

"Ryoga?" Akane turned her head to look up at the tall man with the sad and caring eyes.

"Hey...!" the younger Ranma started to take a step away from Nabiki's side, only to find an arm thrust into his path as his older self said, "What's it to you if he says stuff like that to Akane? You gonna be a man about it and let Akane find somebody who cares about her and doesn't make her angry?"

"But..." Ranma started to protest, only to freeze at the chilling look his counterpart gave him.

"Jealousy's a waste of time and emotion," he said simply, "I was too stupid when I was you to see it for myself, and I hated Ryoga for being the kind of guy who wouldn't talk back to Akane, wouldn't insult her and-hell-even had the guts to eat her cooking! That's more manliness than I ever had. All I ever did was screw things up by trying to keep Akane at a distance."

"Wow," Ukyo breathed as she stared at the older version of her iinazuke, "I never knew you could be so deep, Ranchan."

"Ranma more man when he Man than ever was when he boy," Shampoo agreed, clutching her hands together with a typically cute expression.

"You don't have to do this alone, Akane," Ryoga continued, "We'll all be there for you, even me...whenever my past self manages to find his way here, which should be in a few minutes."

The older Ranma turned and smiled at Ryoga, "I'm betting my Yen on you, old buddy. If you can just work it past that idiotic shyness of yours and finally come clean about your problem..."

"Shut up, Ranma," Ryoga replied, but without any real heat in the statement.

"Problem?" Akane turned fully around to look up at the man before her, "You have a problem, Ryoga?"

"Ah, well..." the man looming over her winced.

"Eh?" Cologne shifted her attention, looking upward as she murmured, "Now that's odd..."

"Huh?" Shampoo followed her great grandmother's glance and said, "Aiyaa...what is happening to sky?"

"Huh?" both Ranmas, Ryoga and the older Nabiki were next to glance upward where a large circle of bluish light was forming.

"Now that's odd," Genma Saotome frowned, adjusting his glasses just before it happened...

Continued.

Comments/Criticisms/Time Trampoline lessons: shadowmane

What is the "it" that is about to happen? Stay tuned and you'll find out...be there!

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	10. Chapter 10

RanBites9

Realities Byte

By

Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others Including the Altered Destinies and Convergences Series)

Chapter Nine.

Floating Village.

Continuum #72489164

Roll Call:

Spring SaotomeRinse SaotomeWatazashi Kuno Kengo Yatai KuonjiAkira HibikiYinra Saotome Yuan-Yen TendoJonma SaotomeLylac Tendo Yangra Saotome Takane Kuno Twilight Saotome Shamran Saotome Tachi Kuno Razor Hibiki Rui Hibiki Ryokoma Saotome Ryoukio Hibiki Okami SaotomeKimiko HibikiFragrance Kuonji Belldandy TofuKimiko TendoDai Yen Tendo Ranko Saotome Ivory Kuno Chameleon Kurenai Eidolon KunoStorm SaotomeBrand Tendo Kanazuchi TaroTakomo ArigamiLightning Saotome Towel Kuonji Minos Taro Dragon Tendo Godai HibikiIncense TendoBelldandy Taro Chi Kuno Ryonami Hibiki Belldandy Kuno Sachio Kuno

(Refer to Previous Chapter for More Details)

"Well now," said their pale blue haired hostess, "That is quite a story you young people have there. Were it not for the obvious evidence of your diverse presence I might have cause to question your sanity. These days sanity is a rare enough commodity, though those of us who survive do our level best to manage."

"Captain Lao," Lylac said on behalf of the large assembly of cross Paratime siblings, "We don't expect you to take our story on faith, but we have a question of our own, if you wouldn't mind our asking."

"By all means," Lao said, waving a goblet that she held in one hand, indicating the large chamber that they were sitting within that in another timeline had been used as a Seraglio and Nursery, "No doubt you have as many questions as I do, most chiefly what went wrong with the world that it's now overrun with monsters."

"That was my chief concern, yes," Lylac nodded, "On my timeline we have our monsters penned up on an Island where they are kept for study into their unique biological makeup..."

"It used to be the same way here," Lao replied, "Until the disaster struck and the ocean levels rose to flood the world by a hundred and twenty meters. The defensive perimeter around the Island was never built to withstand the tidal waves that swept over everything, but the monsters did survive, and more than survive, they thrived, and now the world is overrun with their offspring."

"I knew it!" Fragrance spoke up, "There must have been a Typhon incident on this world, only instead of one Baby there were thousands!"

"Typhon?" Lao remarked, "As in the ancient Greek Legend? That certainly would describe the speed with which the giant lizards overran the world, sweeping everything in their path. Nothing could stop them, not tanks or planes or even bombs and biological weapons. They just kept coming and adapting as fast as science could come up with new weapons until they were the dominant life form all over the planet. Cities were the first things to fall, becoming breeding grounds for the reptiles and their offspring, maybe because Man tends to occupy the same types of fertile habitats as would naturally be favored by the monsters."

"I find it hard to believe that everything failed so completely," said Dai Yen, "Such monsters are surely formidable, but they can't be as unstoppable as you make them out to be."

"And what makes you think that?" Lao asked, "There was more than one type of monster to deal with, after all, and what might work against one of them would not necessarily work against all others..."

"What about Gojiro?" asked Yinra, "Why did he help us out if all the monsters are our enemies?"

"Gojiro is the oldest, most powerful and wisest of all the monsters," Lao replied, "He was at one time mankind's greatest enemy until a human child formed a psychic bond with him in the mid-to-late 20th century. Through this link he learned alien concepts such as morality and honor. He may be the only thing keeping us from total annihilation. I do what I can to help out any pockets of survivors who might surface from the ruins. I shuttle groups of them to sanctuaries and refuges created to help these survivors rebuild the vestiges of lost civilization. All the other human colonies out there have reverted to barbarism in order to adapt to the ecological changes brought about by the Second Impact."

"So it happened here as well as on my world," Storm remarked, "Only the Angels here are terrestrial dragons."

"Oh, we have Angels here as well," Lao smiled, "And EVA units that protect one of the colonies that have managed to retain their advanced civilization. NERV central is located not too far away from these waters. We tolerate each other where we must, even if they do hold a precious legacy that they stole from us long ago..."

"Treasure?" Watazashi asked, "What sort of treasure? What do you hold of value now that the world itself is reduced to a wasteland?"

"The most precious kind of treasure of all," Lao said grimly, "Life. Three children once entrusted to me by their parents, stolen by agents of NERV to be raised and trained in ignorance of their heritage. One of these days we have to take them back into our fold and try to undo the harm that has been wrought upon their spirits by unthinking fiends blinded by their own perverted genius."

"We?" Rinse asked, looking around the room at the faces of women, some armed with primitive weapons, others looking a ghostly pale blue, as with the rest attentive to Lao's every word as though she were a high priestess. Aside from being uniformly beautiful with athletic builds they seemed like warriors hardened by many a battle, some stoical to the point of absolute frost.

"My people and me, of course," Lao indicated the occupants of the room who were not displaced heirs to one of the famous houses of Nerima, "All that's left of the Amazons of Joketsuzoku, including my son, Breeze, who's currently manning the helm. We have our own floating tribe on board this ship, and I am their current Matriarch in absence of the former council of our Elders..."

"You?" Shamran gulped.

"I'm afraid so," Lao smiled lopsidedly, "The honor was bestowed on me by my beloved great grandmother as her last act before embracing the long night. Times were harder on the elderly back then, and few survived to pass along their ageless wisdom. I was one of a very few who had the strength my people needed to take up the burden..."

"But weren't you an exile?" Lylac asked, "Stripped of rank and clan for an offense against the laws of your ancestors?"

"My great grandmother restored me to full honor and cleared my name of the false charges once made against me," Lao said simply, "It seems you know quite a bit about the person I once was in those days, but I assure you that times have forced us all to make serious changes in our behavior. Responsibility," she sniffed, "It is the Bane of my existence."

"But weren't you once a Pirate and a Slaver?" Ryokoma asked with rounded eyes.

Lao's smile quirked a little and her eyes sparkled with amusement, "If you mean did I once practice the profession of an Import/Export Low Tariff/Free Trade Merchant through Extralegal means, I confess to that charge. As for the Slaver part, you are confusing me with my predecessor, the former owner of this ship, the POJ. Not much call for either profession in these grim times, I fear. Now the concerns of simple survival take up most of my energies, and the free wheeling days of my youth have long since been numbered."

"Speaking of yourself in the past tense, Kitty-Cat?" a low voice rumbled from the doorway as a huge male form ducked his head under the doorsill.

"Uncle Frank?" Lylac said in surprise, seeing the craggy-faced giant that she had known since early childhood, "What are you doing here?"

"You mean my husband?" Lao asked with a smile, "Where else would he be but at my side? After all, he too is a survivor."

"I had to come and check this out for myself," replied a man seven and a half feet tall and as broad shouldered as a grizzly, "Looks like you weren't kidding about this lot. Looks like a convention in here, or a meeting of The Purple Haired League."

"Ah..." Tachi Kuno asked as she watched the man squat down to sit beside the blue-haired Lao, "They said your name is Frank?"

"Doctor Franklin Nathaniel Steinberg," the huge man inclined his head, "At your service."

"Doctor...?" Watazashi shook her head as Yuan steadied her with a reassuring hand on her arm.

"Okay," Tachi said as she sat back, "I withdraw the question."

Ranko set down the cup of hot tea she had been drinking and said, "I still don't understand what's going on here. This talk of Parallel Universes with their Alternate Realities...it all sounds like something out of a bad Science Fiction movie."

"Ah well," Lao smiled, "Consider it this way...we sit here sharing the same space and time because we are all related to one another through a common vibrational frequency, much like tuning in a radio. Change the wavelength of the radio's reception and you get a different channel. Apply that to what you all have been doing and it means you now are all tuned into the same program and are sharing a group experience. Does that help?"

"No," Ranko admitted.

Lao sighed, "Suppose I explain it to you this way: Reality, as we so call it, is composed of only two categorical natures: that which Exists and that which does not Exist, do you follow me so far?"

"Kinda," Ranko shrugged and looked more than slightly awkward.

"But technically that which does not Exist is not a real category," Lao resumed, "By definition it does not exist, so therefore we are left only with the category of Existence, hence every thing that is real exists and that which is not real does not exist. Simple enough, yes?"

"Sorta," Ranko said while looking troubled.

"If everything that is real exists, then how can anything that we see or imagine not exist?" Lao asked, "Do we not feel, touch, taste and sense something that has a basis in reality? We use our experience of what is real to form a mental concept of reality itself, so the reality we carry around in our minds is the sum total of that existence. What we experience as real is real, which is why-  
if you were to see a charging dragon coming right at you-it is a very good idea to get out of its way rather than question its existence."

"I get it," Yinra said, "If we can see it, touch it, taste it or feel it then it must be real on some level."

"What about Holographic projections?" Yangra snored, "You telling me those are real too?"

"As real as the light images that they are composed of," Lao smiled, "If your mind says an experience is something you know about from past acquaintance of a like nature, then the concept exists in your mind, and the degree to which it is manifested is the reality you must deal with. You can walk through an illusion because it is not solid, but if you leave touch and smell out of it, how then can you know that a Hologram is a real or unreal object? The point is moot if the object in question has the theoretical power to harm you."

"What has that got to do with Multiple realities?" Ranko asked.

"I was just getting to that part," Lao assured her, "Now if we go by the simple basis of ideas then there are an infinite number of possibilities that we can imagine on a theoretical basis. For example, we are walking along through a forest following a trail when it suddenly forks for no apparent reason. We can then turn to the left or the right depending on which path we think will bring us to our goals, but which one is the correct path? We might use a hunch or our intuition, but if both roads look the same from where we are standing then either choice might be the correct one. Everyone with me so far?"

"Uh..." Rui Hibiki said, "I guess..."

"All right," Lao smiled, "Then consider that each possibility must exist as a potential reality until it is realized by the act of free will that we call choice. The possibility that we encounter may be one unlike anything in our experience, or it could be a familiar sight we have seen many times before. The point is that it is real, it exists independent of ourselves, so whether we go there or not that possibility is still left open and may be encountered by another. There are infinite number of possibilities in our reality, and an infinite Multiverse in which to house them..."

"Excuse me," Jonma said, "By possibility...do you mean that the different histories and combinations of parents were all possible depending on what choices our parents made before they were married?"

"It goes much farther than that, I'm afraid," Lao replied, "Your histories all have a common basis, and right up until the moment of divergence they may have been remarkably similar due to Quantum interface, but going even farther back there may have been widely divergent points in your history that helped to determine your present. For example, the worlds where someone other than Ranma Saotome became the heir to the Anything Goes tradition may have been similar and overlapping at one time, but there were no doubt deciding elements in their past that helped to form the decision over who would accompany Genma Saotome to Jusenkyo."

"I see," Dai Yen smiled, glancing at those contemporaries from alternate worlds who share one or more of his parents, "In other words the event that led to Ukyo Kuonji becoming the heir to Happosai in our world was caused by a different set of circumstances which resulted in that title going to Uncle Ranma or one of the others closest to him, my mother being one example."

"You tell 'em, Bro," smiled Fragrance.

"And yet," said one of three Belldandys who were in the room together, "Even though there are similarities..."

"The differences are also quite remarkable," a second Belldandy finished for her, then the two exchanged looks and smiled before each remarked, "Oh my."

"Now that's something you don't see every day," smiled Eidolon, "Belldandy's in stereo."

"Or triplicate," said Kimiko Hibiki.

"But what caused these divergences?" Okami Saotome asked, holding the hand of the purple haired girl at his side, "And why did we all turn out so different?"

"Says who, Wolf-boy?" replied the seemingly innocuous piece of furniture that one of two women named Kimiko Tendo was sitting upon remarked.

Okami glared and said, "What are you doing over there, Chameleon?"

"That's what I want to know," growled Dragon, who was hidden behind the chair occupied by Twilight.

"The answer to all of your questions," Lao said tolerantly, "Is in the power of the imagination. As nothing unreal can exist, what we can visualize in our minds must have some basis in a reality, so if you could travel far enough through the boundaries of Space and Time it would be possible to find the equivalent of something you only imagine. Most of us do a minor bit of probability alteration every minute that we exist, exercising our free will to affect miniscule changes in our environment and ourselves. If we form an idea in our mind then seek out a reality compatible with that idea we could theoretically travel to other planes where the changes in history are much more dramatic. It is even possible to travel to worlds where the man named Saotome Ranma never even studied martial arts, or perhaps never existed. He exists in the worlds we find him under different circumstances, some helping to shape his destiny to become the finest warrior of his generation, while under other circumstances he might become a scientist, or even a politician."

"Yeah, right," Kanazuchi growled, "Like that would ever happen with Uncle Ranma."

"Mind if I cut in here, dear?" Frank asked Lao, who nodded ascent, "Timetravel's tricky business, which is why it shouldn't be done by amateurs. You can't really alter your own past, but if you interfere with the natural progress of a timeline you increase the probability that a POSSIBLE future takes the place of a Probable one, and that can create ripples in the Timefield that can even disrupt the flow of time into the future."

"So far all you've done is travel crosswise between planes," Lao resumed, looking directly at a nervous Akira, "But you, child, are in the past interfering in the lives and destinies of everyone who is currently sitting in this room. You need more self-control and practice in managing your ability to travel, and given that you are a Hibiki that makes the possession of such a dangerous tool as that amulet like handing a child a loaded gun to play with."

Ranko shook her head, "I still don't get this stuff about alternate worlds. How can there be different realities all stuck together in the same Universe? Wouldn't they get in the way of each other?"

"May I answer that one, Captain?" Watazashi asked, and when Lao waved her cup towards the young Saotome she got up and drew Yaun-Yen with her, "Help me out with this one, Yuan-chan."

"Sure," Yuan said with a bright expression, "What with?"

"Just stand right there and follow my lead, darling," Watazashi replied, producing a three inch wide rubber ball in the palm of her hand, which same she bounced on the floor towards Yuan, who caught it and bounced it back, "See how this ball bounced back and forth between us? Think of it as an Atom or even a group of molecules in a manifest condition that represents all physical matter as a constant. This is a single universe unto itself independent of any other. Are you with me?"

Ranko nodded so Watazashi continued, "Now see what happens if I vary the bounces slightly with each toss...it creates the effect that there are actually two balls instead of one in play between me and Yuan-chan. Now see what happens when I vary the bounces even more."

The ball had continued to bounce back between the dark haired girl and her brown haired companion, only now it did appear as if there were more than one ball being tossed to the floor between them, and as Watazashi increased the tempo and pace it soon appeared as if there were eight balls, then sixteen, then thirty two, then sixty four, and soon the entire chamber was filled by the noise of over a hundred balls bouncing against the floor from one set of hands and the other.

"See that the one ball is now many, and that these bounces do not interfere or even interact with the other balls so that it appears as if we have quite a set between us. But observe," she snatched one of the balls and held it up as all the others winked out of existence, "They are in fact one ball. The impression that there were hundreds of balls was merely an optical illusion."

"Oh!" Ranko said with raised eyebrows, "Now I get it..."

"That's a pretty neat summation of Superstring Theory," Frank said in admiration towards Watazashi.

The dark haired girl with the blue-violet eyes just smiled and said, "I've always done well in my physics lessons, and you can't really improve your Martial Arts without a firm grasp of the fundamentals."

"Mind if I ask you a question?" Rinse turned to Ranko, "When we showed up in your yard you seemed pretty ticked off at meeting us. I was wondering...what went wrong in your life that made you so bitter towards your own family?"

"How else am I supposed to feel?" Ranko sounded depressed, "I never really got the chance to know my parents all that well. I was raised by Happosai more than anybody else, including my poor granddad. All I can remember about my folks is that they shouted at each other a lot. I don't even know if they ever really liked each other. They died when I was still too young to understand, only now I see how things could have been and I feel incredibly jealous."

"Jealous?" Ryoukio asked, "Of us?"

"Yeah," Ranko looked at the faces around the room, "You all got to know your folks, and you've had way better lives than me. All I do is train and fight. I don't have too many friends, I have to spend a lot of time around the house keeping everything clean and stuff, and then there's Grampa, who needs me to look after him when Aunt Nodoka is away..."

"What became of your parents?" Rinse asked the girl with whom she had so recently been at odds.

"I don't really know," Ranko said, "All I get are stories about what they were like when they were younger, when Dad had all these women chasing after him, and Mom was always beating him up about it. Somehow they were able to work together to get Mom's rivals out of the picture, beginning with some lady named Ukyo, who moved to Kyoto and married some other guy named Konatsu before I was even born. I hear stories about Shampoo the Amazon and her great grandmother, who seems to have died during some kind of magical fight involving this weird artifact called the Ancestor Stone. Shampoo married some guy named Mousse and became an ambassador after they opened up China to democracy in the early '0's. Then there's my Aunt Kodachi, who spent some time in the hospital before she was released. She comes to visit me every so often, brings me candy and such, and tells me these stories about my parents and the people they knew. She always looks so sad when she tells me about what she used to be like before she got help. I know she loved my Dad, but I never imagined that they could have kids together," she looked at Watazashi with a curious expression.

"Aunt Kodachi's the only one you had telling you stuff?" Incense asked, "That's scary!"

"Hey!" Ivory protested, "Watch what you say about my mother!"

"So, all you know about your parents is that they died?" Minos asked with a snort, "That's not much of a story."

"Aunt Kodachi didn't know too much because she wasn't there," Ranko glared at the tall boy, "She says my folks loved each other very much but had trouble with saying it, which is why they fought all of the time, even when they graduated High School and went onto College. Whatever it was that killed them also got my Aunts Nabiki and Kasumi, but I'm sure my Dad fought hard to prevent it. Whatever it was that killed them left my Grampa the way you saw him, so don't get on my case about it, will ya? I'm not asking for pity, I just wish like hell that things were better in my life. You guys don't know how lucky you've got it. Most of you don't even have my curse to deal with."

"You have a Jusenkyo curse?" Chi asked.

"I turn into a guy," Ranko snapped, "Wanna make something of it?"

"Not really," Akira shrugged.

"Welcome to the club," seconded Jonma.

"Been there," Lylac sniffed, "Done that."

"What's wrong with somebody being able to turn into a guy?" asked Chi.

"There are worse things you can turn into," noted Twilight with a smile.

"If you don't mind my asking," Tachi noted, "How did you wind up with your father's curse? I've always understood that they aren't inherited under ordinary conditions."

"Look, it was my mistake, I asked Grandfather Happosai to take me to see where my Dad got his curse from," Ranko said somewhat defensively, "I didn't mean to fall into that guy-changing pond, it just happened!"

"Okay," Yangra said, "So you wanted to get closer to Dad by following in his footsteps, only now you've got the reverse of his curse. That makes perfect sense...kinda."

"Shut up," Ranko glared, "Who asked you for your opinion anyway?"

"Hey!" Yinra snapped, "I don't care if you are kind-of my sister, you don't talk that way to my twin brother!"

"Ladies, please, let's hold it down, shall we there?" Lylac pleaded, "We've got a problem right here that needs taking care of, all right? So why don't we deal with things one step at a time and let secondary issues be resolved in their own good time."

"Well said," Lao replied, "And time is the key issue here, which brings me to the point I was trying to make regarding your presence in our world..."

"I've been wondering about that," Eidolon spoke up, "Why is this the only world so far encountered in which there are no equivalents to ourselves, which is to say the children of the key martial artists of Nerima?"

"That is a good question," Lao replied, "But it would be just as relevant to ask why you have been drawn to worlds that have children born to similar parents. In answer to your question I would say that you were only a few kilometers from the NERV base where three of this world's heirs are being held without knowledge of their true identities and heritages. Kuonji Shinji, Saotome Rei and Tendo Atsuko are their true names, not those phony ones they were given when they were adopted into client families and used like guinea pigs in the war against the EVAs..."

"This is all very interesting," Takomo said, "But how does it bring us closer to finding out way back to our own versions of Earth?"

"I was coming to that," Lao said patiently, "In answer to the question you did not raise, it seems to me as if your trips through lateral time has been influenced by some power, some intelligence that has guided you all along to find comparable realities and an interesting mix of crossed gene patterns, in effect showcasing the range of possible combinations as if searching through the mix for the one particular pattern that could most serve its purpose."

"I know that tone," Frank murmured, "I just love it when you play detective."

Lao gave her husband a favoring smile before turning to Spring and saying, "The amulet you've been using to effect your travel through time...may I see it?"

"This?" Spring asked as she slipped the necklace from around her neck then passed it over to Rinse, who passed it along to one of the two Kimikos, who in turn handed it to Lao, who brought the pendant by its chain up to her eyes for a closer examination.

"Aha," Lao smiled, "I thought as much. This is more than a simple artifact you have here...it's like a key hole to another dimension, only it manifests a living presence, an aura of intelligence and purpose. This is the reason young Hibiki did not aimlessly wander through time as he surmised but was subconsciously guided to each and every destination."

"Oh come on, lady," Minos snorted, "You're telling us that thing deliberately caused all this?"

"That would sure require a lot of power to carry it off," said Sachio Kuno, "Transporting two score people through space and time..."

"Childsplay for this trinket," Lao replied as she held the pendent out for them to see, "It applied the basic rule of resonance and synchronicity to draw like images from comparable templates. The first time it was used it took our young Akira-san to a strange parallel of his own Earth, then it shuttled him back almost twenty years to the time before his parents met and married, where he encountered his biological mother. After that, when she chose to follow him in the portal, the imbalance of energy was shaped by this thing to bring larger and larger groups through time, effecting ripples in the currents of the dimensions it jumped to so that its withdrawal would create a similar vortex to draw the rest of you with it. Even when separated the amulet maintained a link to your individual patterns and was using you as a lure to seek out other patterns of a similar nature..."

"I get it," Yuan-Yen said, "It used a Saotome to find a Saotome..."

"And a Tendo to find another Tendo," Watazashi mused.

Lao gave the article in question a hard smile as she said, "You have been a precocious little artifact, haven't you? But now we need to undo what you have wrought. You can seek out your catspaw another time without disrupting the lives of these innocent children."

She stood up and said, "Some of you will come with me. I believe...you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you and you will suffice. The rest wait here, this should not take long to correct if I guess rightly."

"If you guess rightly?" Rinse asked as she, Akira, Spring, Storm, Watazashi, Lylac, Kimiko, Twilight and Ranko stood up, the latter seeming quite nervous while trying not to show it.

"I am not Cologne," Lao replied, "I have only the barest shadow of her knowledge, for she was the greatest War Master of her generation. I can only hope one day to equal her in skill and knowledge, but I am the master of this ship and thus in possession of a source of near-limitless power. Hopefully that will be enough to do what must be done, but your cooperation is required if we are to get you back where you all belong. Having so many Nexus Points this close together can't be good for our own dimension's Timefield."

"Nexus Points?" Kimiko Tendo asked as she and the others followed the Amazon Matriarch.

"It might take a while to explain," said Frank as he stood up, only to see Lao wave a hand as she said, "No, husband, stay here and keep these children together. Entertain them with stories of your travels if you must, but this task falls unto me and I can do it best by myself."

"Whatever you say, Hon," Frank shrugged, sitting down as he looked at the group and said, "Anybody here for a game of cards? Looks like we've got enough for several bridge clubs."

"'Zashi-chan?" Yuan-Yen asked her beloved.

"I won't be far, darling," Watazashi assured her, "But I confess to being intrigued by the Captain's curious offer of assistance."

"Not far she says," Fragrance sniffed, "She's obviously never been on the POJ before or hung around with cousin Lao..."

Lao led the way with nine of the teenagers following her wake down a long corridor that seemed to stretch an unbelievable distance in both directions. The sea-green haired Amazon moved unerringly past a number of doors until at last coming to one chamber which she entered as if reading invisible markers.

Inside they found a round chamber, and in the center of this was a covered device set upon a pedestal. Lao approached this item while murmuring over her shoulder, "Stand at cardinal points in the room using the markings on the floor as your guide points."

They looked down to see that the floor was marked like a giant compass. All seven girls and one of the two boys did as the Matriarch directed, fanning out to eight of the points on the dial, all except Akira, who stood beside Lao at her request. When they were in position Lao touched a hidden stud on the pedestal and the metal covering parted in the middle to reveal a lens-shaped device roughly the diameter of a human hand. It was plain and dull to begin with but started to glow from within a moment after being exposed to the weird light that seemed to fill every chamber. Lao smiled as the glow stretched out and formed a beam that cast its image upon one of the walls. All heads turned to see the image of three children appear, one a boy with dark hair, the other two girls, one with red hair, the other bluish silver.

"Good to see they're still all right," Lao said before adding, "So far Ikari has kept his word to me on that." Then she raised her voice to the others and said, "This is the Lens of Magellan, so named because it can enable one to see anything one desires anywhere above, on or below the Earth just by concentrating on their image. It can, however, also be used to view other planes of existence."

"It can?" Watazashi asked on impulse, then checked her desire to advance on the pillar by saying, "Ah...of course. A powerful magical object. It must have many...interesting uses..."

"That it does," Lao replied with a sigh as if reviewing her memories, "But these days I prefer those uses be of benefit to those who have great need, which in this case means you and your Paratime cousins. Now...let's see how one artifact interacts with another."

She passed the amulet before the beam of the lens while her other hand adjusted some dial controls around the base of the device as a new image formed, almost a kaleidoscope of faces that flashed by until a single face appeared in the lens, the face of a young boy named Saotome Ranma.

"As I suspected," Lao said softly, "You all represent some alternate version of the present, yet the original purpose of the mission Akira was sent to pursue was to seek out his own grandfather. Not all of you acknowledge him as the original master of the Saotome Ryu, yet in every reality he plays a key role in the drama being, like all of you, the Nexus of his generation."

"What's a Nexus?" asked Ranko, who seemed intrigued by the image they saw, "And what does it have to do with my father?"

"A Nexus of Realities," Lao explained, "Is an individual who is a focal point of destiny, a tool by which fate shapes the world around him. A Nexus can choose to act in a number of ways, to turn to the left or the right at each fork in the metaphorical path of destiny he or she pursues. Depending on which way he turns so turns the Universe around him. Sometimes the paths are parallel to one another, sometimes they briefly merge at intersections so that a similarity of matching destinies may be explored, but always the Nexus is the hinge point around which larger issues are resolved. A Nexus is either the plaything of the gods or the master of their own fate, in either circumstance a being of great significance in the larger scheme of things."

"And my father is a Nexus?" Spring asked.

"And mine as well," Storm said with a thoughtful expression.

"He's my father too," said Rinse in some annoyance.

"He's not exactly my father," Lylac said, "But I've always looked up to him and thought him a very important man in the lives of all of my parents."

"Tell me again," Lao resumed, "What was the mission your grandmother gave you, young Akira?"

"She said I had to find both her and granddad when they were both real young," Akira replied, "Before they were married, but I've been trying to do that all day and I just keep winding up somewhere else. It's so frustrating..."

"I'm not surprised," Watazashi mused, "Your grandmother must have been desperate to send a Hibiki on such a vital mission."

"That isn't a very nice thing to say," Kimiko chided.

"But it's accurate," said Twilight, "Only I don't think I qualify for this Nexus thing you're talking about. I think that ought to go either to my older brother or sister."

"But you are a Saotome," Lao turned to regard each of the children in turn while holding the amulet in place, "In fact each one of you represents a different alternate reality, and most of you have the common distinction of being the child of either Ranma or my late cousin, Shampoo. I see her likeness in your eyes and it warms my heart to know some part of her lives on in each one of you. However for the purposes of this experiment it is useful to form a link to the proper goal of your mission, young Akira. This way we can achieve your goal of saving the Amazons of your generation while returning everyone to their proper universe. As I said before, having so many of you gathered in one place cannot be healthy to this poor ravaged dimension."

"So how is this going to get us back to our homes?" Rinse asked.

"Patience," Lao urged, "The Jewel first found its way to Akira's mother, then used the imbalance created by her presence to shuffle sideways to explore the nearest available worlds. Once it had enough of you gathered in one place it spread its net out farther and used your collective patterning to attract a wider selection of candidates, and then it reeled all of you in like a huge net so that it could examine you each more personally for its own unfathomable purpose."

"Okay," Lylac said, "We got that part. So you want to reverse the process to send us back using this lens to fix the coordinates for our dimensions."

"And fulfill Akira's goal," Lao turned to examine the image of Saotome Ranma, only to frown as she said, "Who is that he's arguing with? I must increase the scope to explore this-Sacred Ancestors!"

"Hey!" Twilight spoke up, "Who's that other guy who looks just like my Dad?"

"Incredible," Storm remarked, "It's like looking at an old photograph of Dad when he was our age."

"Father is in two places at the same time?" Watazashi blinked.

"Yeah," Ranko said, "But one of them looks a lot older than the other one..."

"Fascinating," Lylac mused, "I wonder if this is a side-effect caused by our own travels through space and time."

"That is certainly one possibility," Lao agreed, when she gave a sudden start as the pendant in her hand began to glow more brightly, "What in the name of my Foremothers...?"

"Uh oh," Rinse said as the image they were looking at began to glow blue around the edges, "Is it supposed to be doing that?"

"Oh my," said Kimiko, "I think it's widening...and do you feel a slight breeze?"

"I've got a bad feeling about..." Lylac began but did not get the chance to finish as the pendant flared to a brilliant blue light, at the same time matched by a blue corona that surrounded each of the teenagers standing at the cardinal points, and one moment later Lao found herself alone without either an audience or a pendant.

"Oh my," Lao glanced around in the suddenly empty chamber, "This does not look good..."

As if in answer to her statement a water elemental formed into a human shape and said, "Matriarch, your husband wishes me to inform you that the strange children have vanished without a trace."

"Is anyone else missing?" Lao was quick to ask.

"We don't know yet, Matriarch," the Selke replied, "There hasn't been time enough to make a proper head count."

"My son!" Lao cried with a note of real panic, "He was on the bridge with Blossom and Lotus..."

"We will investigate this, Matriarch," the Selke replied, then dissolved back into a puddle of water that seemed through the cracks in the floorboards.

"Oh dear," Lao said to herself as she scanned the empty walls of the chamber as if to see beyond their physical impediment, "This definitely does not look good. Outsmarted by a pendant, no less...I just hope wherever they wind up they can find someone waiting there who knows more about this stuff than I do..."

Continued.

Comments/Criticisms/The Conclusion Resolution Pending: shadowmane

Where did they all wind up? Take a guess! Next chapter, it's raining Heirs in Nerima, be there! 


	11. Chapter 11

RanBites10

Realities Byte

By Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others Including the writers of the Altered Destinies and Convergences Series.)

Chapter 10

Convergence.

Continuum #24968173

Roll Call:

Spring SaotomeRinse SaotomeRanko SaotomeEidolon Kuno Akira HibikiYinra SaotomeWatazashi SaotomeDragon Tendo Lylac TendoYangra SaotomeYaun-Yen TendoChi Kuno Shamran TendoTachi KunoTakane KunoSachio Kuno Ryokoma SaotomeRyoukio HibikiRazor HibikiMinos Taro Fragrance KuonjiBelldandy TofuKengo Yatai KuonjiBelldandy Taro Storm SaotomeIvory KunoJonma SaotomeBreeze Steinberg Lightning SaotomeBrand TendoTwilight SaotomeBelldandy Kuno Godai HibikiOkami SaotomeDai Yen TendoShinji Kuonji Ryonami HibikiKimiko TendoRui HibikiRei Saotome Towel KuonjiChameleon KurenaiKimiko HibikiAtsuko Hibiki Incense TendoKanazuchi TaroTakomo Arigami

The air above the heads of everyone gathered about the two Ranmas shifted into a giant blue disk, and one second later bodies literally began falling from out of the sky, some landing on top of the heads of the less wary, thus breaking the fall of the new arrivals, while others managed to catch their balance and land on their own two feet, thus crowding the free spaces with their wholly unexpected arrival.

Of course considering that the fight between the two Ranmas had brought them close to the edge of one of the storm control canals it was hardly surprising that the ones with Jusenkyo curses should happen to land in the water. The splash kicked up by their bodies just happened (by some amazing coincidence) to strike both Ranma and Ryoga squarely while Shampoo was caught trying to dodge away from the spray in her direction.

"Oh great," the older Ranma said two octaves higher than before, looking down at herself as her clothing miraculously self-adjusted to fit her now smaller frame. She then turned an accusing stare up at the heavens and said, "One day...just one whole day without getting wet, is that too much to ask?"

"What are you complaining about?" a younger and smaller version of herself asked, turning a glance towards where Ryoga had been standing, "Get a look at him."

"Ryoga?" Akane asked as she found herself looking at a bundle of clothing that included a now-empty leather jacket.

"Oh my," Kasumi was the first to say as she scanned around at the new faces looking at them from all directions, "So many people showing up at one time."

"I know what you mean, Sis," the younger Nabiki said, "And I didn't even sell them any tickets."

"Just great," one of the new kids on the block complained, "Where are we now?"

"Take a guess, stupid," somebody else snapped, "Just look who gawking at us."

The older Nabiki hastily brought out her wristwatch and passed it around in a circle as if using it like a tricorder. She stared at the readings and said a choice word of exclamation, then winced at the reproving glare this earned her from her (formerly) older sister.

"Oh my," Cologne looked around, "So many young people, and half of them look a little like my Shampoo."

"Quack, Quack!" protested Mousse, who had also been caught in the spray of a moment past.

"Great-great grandmother?" several of the new arrivals chorused, followed by equally astonished cries of "Father/Daddy/Pop/Dad/Mom/Momma/Mother" and (more curiously) "Fama!" The surprise generated by these statements was only compounded by the fact that they were not all addressed to the same parties, creating a cacophony of agitated voices that competed for attention.

"Wha-what's going on here?" asked Akane.

"Saotome," Soun asked, "Have you any idea what this is all about?"

"Not a clue, Tendo-kun," Genma replied, "But my guess is that the Boy is somehow involved here."

"Good guess, Pop," the older and taller female Ranma snorted.

The next minute or so was consumed by the bedlam created by two score people trying to talk all at once, only to have this near-riot of voice interrupted by a sharp whistle. It was Tachi Kuno who called for everyone's attention, calling out, "Hey Sibs, Parental Units! Let's have some order here! Everybody just quiet down and give us a chance to explain things, okay? Thanks!"

"Who are you?" Nabiki-jr asked, hesitating before she added, "You look a little like me..."

"There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that, Mom-I mean-Tendo-san," Tachi winced at her own gaff then hastily leapt to the next statement before the damage had time to set in, "We've all been slightly misdirected by a fancy piece of jewelry that seems to have a mind of its own and has been hijacking us from several alternate versions of the future..."

"Are you now?" Cologne asked, "Very interesting. So these two are not the only visitors from the future. By alternates do I take that to mean that you young people are in some way related to various parties who are currently present, including my great granddaughter?"

"Meow?" asked Shampoo with her ears forward and her whiskers twitching with amazement.

"Gah!" the Ranma of the Present reacted, "A Cat!"

"Ah, put a sock in it," the taller redhead beside him snorted, "It's just Shampoo. C'mere Kitty, let me dry you off before that nice fur coat of yours gets dirty."

"Ranma still has his Jusenkyo curse but he's overcome the Nekoken?" Nabiki-jr marveled.

"Mister Macho finally conquered his fear of cats," her older counterpart said simply, "After he stopped giving a damn about himself it was easy, just like he stopped looking for a cure to his other problem."

Of a sudden several people became aware that a large scaly face was appearing over the guardrail overlooking the storm drain. The dragon was certainly a terrifying sight to those who did not know any better, but this terror was slightly abated by the sight of the dark haired boy and purple haired girl riding on its back, not to mention a sopping wet pussy cat with indigo colored fur.

"Just great," growled another fearsome sight as a fur-faced Cat-man climbed over the rail, "More wet clothes to have to dry again..."

A furry woman with catlike features followed him in turn, only she vaulted the rail as if in understated display of her acrobatic talents.

"Showoff," growled an entirely male Ranko.

"Oh my," Kasumi put a hand to one cheek as she said, "I wonder what kind of spring those two fell into. At least Mister Dragon seems tame enough to handle."

"Don't let appearances fool you, sweet Auntie," Dai Yen remarked, "Where we come from Dragon is referred to as 'Mostly' harmless."

"Mostly?" Akane said dubiously before she noticed movement was taking place in Ryoga's jacket. She reached down to pick it up and expose the thing that had been creating the motion, only what she saw made Akane's eyes go wide before she cried, "P-chan?"

"Uh oh," said the older Nabiki as the younger one glanced nervously at her volatile sister.

"Ryoga...is P-chan?" Akane said as if the gears were grinding slowly in her head, gradually putting two and two together.

"No duh, Mom," said Yinra tartly, "You figured that one out years ago..."

"Not here she hasn't, obviously," said Yangra to his twin sister.

"RY-O-GA!" Akane growled as she took a step towards a somewhat larger version of her "pet" pig, who made a squeal like a cornered mouse and started to skirt away from the avenging Tomboy, only to find the older Ranma blocking her path.

"Akane-no!" she said, "Don't let yourself get angry..."

"Out of my WAY!" Akane didn't have to think, only react from well-conditioned reflex and threw one of her patented roundhouse punches at the red-haired girl, but Ranma did not budge an inch as her hand shot forward and made a circular motion that caught and disabled that punch before it could make impact. Akane threw another punch, only this time when Ranma's other hand intercepted her she allowed the motion to continue forward as Akane was thrown over onto her back with the force of her own momentum. Ranma did not release her grip on Akane's wrist but planted a foot on the angry girl's chest to hold her firmly to the spot where she had landed.

"I said no!" Ranma said firmly, "You're going to listen and hear me out for once! I'm never letting you get away with using violence to solve your problems around me again, you got it?"

"Let me go!" Akane snarled, then winced as Ranma firmed the tension on her wrist, "Ow! You're hurting me!"

"That's enough," Ranma told her counterpart, but the older Ranma just snorted and said, "No way, junior. You want me to ease up on her, but this is the only way she'd going to learn. Giving in to a bully isn't the answer, you've first got to take their advantage away from them before you can make them listen."

"Dad?" Ranko looked shocked at what he was seeing, "Mom?"

The pig started to move forward as if to defend Akane, but a hand reached out to seize him by the bandana and hoist him up to eye level as the older Nabiki said, "Not this time, Ryoga. Akane needs to find out for herself that violence isn't always the answer."

"What's going on here?" Rinse asked, "Why's Momma Akane acting this way?"

"Beats me," Tachi shrugged, "We landed in the middle of this act and nobody thought to give us programs."

"Father," Watazashi said carefully, looking from old to young before adding, "This doesn't seem to be obtaining the sort of results you are after. Perhaps you could allow me to speak with Aunt Akane, I have my own ways of being persuasive."

"Father?" the older Ranma let go of Akane's arm and studied the raven-haired girl with the blue-violet eyes and disturbingly familiar features, "Uh...don't take this the wrong way, but...do I know you?"

"That...would take some explaining, Father," replied Storm as he knelt down and picked up Shampoo the cat, murmuring, "Don't worry, Mother, we'll get you changed back in good order."

"Um...excuse me?" Nabiki-sr. looked around at all the strange faces, some of which were looking towards her in a very curious fashion, "Is there something you people need to tell the rest of us, or should we just faint and get it over with right now?"

"Well..." Yuan-Yen winced slightly, "Like the Purple Boy says, it's kind of complicated...Mother."

As both Nabikis were mouthing that word like a pair of fish out of water Akane was struggling to get back on her feet when she saw a hand reach down to her, looked up and found Godai staring down with a friendly expression.

"If you need to get angry at somebody, Mom, you can yell at me," he said, "I don't mind it, really."

"Who are you?" Akane said, then she began to recognize little telltale traits and said, "Ryoga?"

"Not...quite," said the Amazon boy, "But you are close."

"Let me help her," Takane said, "She's my mother too..."

"Ah...no, that definitely would not be a good idea," said a male Lylac, "At least if experiences on my timeline has any relevant basis."

"Um...excuse me," Nodoka looked around at the bewildering variety of faces, "But where did all of you young people come from?"

"Never mind that," a red-haired girl growled as she shoved her way forward past anyone unfortunate enough to be standing in her path, "I want to know where we are and why we were dragged here so rudely from NERV base! There better be a Verdammit good explanation for why we were kidnapped along with all these...ruffians!"

"Asuka, it's all right," said a dark haired, slightly built boy with a somewhat nervous look about him, "I don't think it was deliberate, at least we're not hurt or in any danger, right Rei?"

"Hmm?" murmured an ethereal looking girl with pale blue hair as she glanced at the boy with no apparent trace of emotion.

"Atsuko?" Genma blinked his eyes.

"What was that, Saotome?" Soun asked his friend as if he'd barely heard him speak.

"Ah..." Genma was aware of the look Nodoka paid him and winced, "Nothing, never mind, never heard that name before in my life..."

"Something tells me the old Panda's holding a lot back," Ukyo noted, then turned to look at the handsome boy standing beside another lad who had a face distinctively cat-like, "Er...do I know you two, Sugar?"

Said boy and cat-youth exchanged nervous looks, then the indigo cat sitting on Jonma's shoulders gave the feline equivalent of a snicker.

"What is going on here?" Ranma-jr. asked as she surveyed a sea of disturbingly familiar faces.

"I'm with you on that, Junior," Ranma-sr. sniffed, "Nabs, you got any clue?"

"As a matter of fact, Saotome, I've got more questions than answers," the older Nabiki replied, "The Quantum Flux scans I just ran on these guys say that they're from different alternate timelines, around about a dozen or so, and the Chronal indicator makes them to be from seventeen to twenty or so years in the future."

"The future?" the younger Nabiki asked with rounded eyes, turning to see the smiles and shrugs from nearly a dozen youths looking her way as if in response to her unvoiced question.

"Oh my," Kasumi blinked, then turned to see several more girls who had instinctively gathered close beside her and she wondered why they all looked so familiar...

"I'm waiting for that answer," the one named Asuka/Atsuko said pensively.

"Put a sock in it, Sister," Ranko snorted before turning to look back at the woman he could now identify as his mother. At the moment there were a half a dozen girls crowded around the bewildered Akane, not counting Godai and Watazashi with still more hanging back, as he/she was, on the fringes.

Akane appeared to have forgotten all about her anger at Ryoga as she was presently trying to deal with the fact that girls and boys roughly her own age or slightly younger were calling her Mother, and even one purple haired girl who let slip the word Grandmother.

"You two...you seem so alike each other," she was saying to Rui and Kimiko Hibiki.

"That's because we're twins," the one named Kimiko replied, "Only I'm the oldest..."

"By about ten minutes," Rui snorted, "She always tries to hold it over me, like it means anything! Just because she's better than me with directions..."

"While you inherited father's lack of same," Kimiko replied with a faint sniff.

"Kuso," muttered Kanazuchi as she shook her head, "Bet that gets annoying after a while..."

"Would somebody mind telling me what's going on here?" a sopping wet woman with pale blue hair asked as she joined the others on dry land.

"And who might you be?" Cologne asked.

"My name is Breeze," she replied, "Steinberg Breeze, first Mate of the Amazon Flagship POJ, and yourself, honored Elder?"

Cologne's eyebrows arched noticeably, "Flagship? I was not even aware that we required the services of a navy. Tell me the name of your mother, youth."

"My mother is Lao Kung," the woman replied, "Captain General of the POJ and Matriarch of the Nyanichiczu."

"Matriarch?" Cologne replied, "You don't say. Tell me more about this..."

"Um, excuse me," said a transformed Shampoo, who was hugging a blanket around herself that the tall boy beside her had provided, "Shampoo very confused...you say you is children of Shampoo?"

"That's right, Mom," said Razor, gratified to finally get recognition from a face he found so familiar.

"It's not like we wanted to surprise you or anything," said Shamran.

"It's just that we've been having this really wild day..." continued Lightning.

"You want to tell me about it?" asked the cat-girl, Spring, "I feel like a rubber ball or some child's plaything."

"It really wasn't our plan at all, we assure you," Lylac followed up, only to have the purple haired Kimiko say, "It just sort of happened."

"Yeah," growled Rinse as she flashed an angry glare towards the now-female Akira, "Because Yo-Yo boy here had to go on walkabout and drag the rest of us through time with him."

"So many faces..." Shampoo's expression was doubly surprised when a boy with cat-like features holding an indigo-furred cat walked up to join them, "You all come from Shampoo?"

"Well...we don't all have the same fathers," Storm assured his mother, "But you can definitely say that we're all related with at least one parent in common."

"But you is son of Shampoo's true husband?" Shampoo turned a delighted look Ranma's way and seemed ready to jump right out of her blanket and at him as she said, "Wode Ailen...!"

"Uh-mom!" Lightning was in her path before the blanket could fall from Shampoo's hands, "Not in front of the others! You're embarrassing me...!"

Young Ranma's lovely features were troubled as she took note of all this, but before she could say a word she heard Ukyo say, "Hold on a minute here! Are you all saying that Shampoo here married Ranchan on this many other timelines?"

"Ah...well," Ryokoma shrugged, "On some timelines, yes, I suppose, but then there's quite a few of us represented here as well. Hey guys, back me up on this!"

"It's like he said, Mom," Ryoukio tried to sound reassuring, "Only where I come from you married Dad and raised me, so it doesn't mean one thing or the other."

"Says you," remarked Towel, "Frankly I don't see how she could have married anybody but my father..."

"You want to bet on that, Sugar?" Fragrance smiled ever-so-sweetly.

"Yeesh, give her a heart attack, why doncha?" Jonma sniffed, turning to Chi and adding, "I'm beginning to think being an only child wouldn't be so awful."

"Okay," the younger Nabiki sighed, "This is where the Host Announcer of Candid Cando pops out and says this has all been a big elaborate prank, right?"

"Candid what, Mother?" Incense looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Quick on the uptake, isn't she?" Dai Yen asked the older Nabiki, then with a start he said, "Hey, what happened to the pendant that started this whole mess in the first place?"

"Huh?" two score heads whirled around and oriented on his position.

"That's right," Tachi looked around, "Did any of you guys have it?"

"No," replied Rinse, "Matriarch Lao had it when the last transition happened."

"Somehow I doubt that it remained with her when we left," Lylac surmised, "Which leads me to theorize that one of us must now be wearing it."

"But which one?" Spring wanted to know.

Everyone hastily examined himself or herself, but it was Akira who found the pendant around her neck. She stared at the talisman for a few seconds, then before anyone else could take notice she leaped forward towards the younger of two near-identical redheads and said, "I'm sorry, Grandfather, I don't have time to explain..."

"Explain what?" Ranma asked the girl with the purple pigtail who had grabbed her by the sleeve while holding up the pendant.

"Forgive me, Grandmother," Akira said as she closed her eyes and concentrated.

Please, she silently projected towards the amulet, I've done what you wanted me to do so far, now help me fulfill my mission!

A blue glow reached out to engulf not only herself and Ranma but an astonished Shampoo, then all at once they faded out of the sight of the others.

"Hey," cried Takomo, "They left us behind this time!"

"He can't do that!" Rui protested.

"Offhand I'd say he just did," grumbled Minos before turning to Kasumi with a shrug, "Some people have no consideration for others, Mom."

"Mom?" Kasumi covered her mouth before looking upon the tall minotaur-like boy, "Oh my..."

"Oh my, yes," said the girl named Belldandy, who had been sketching pictures to one side this whole time, only to look up in dismay as she said, "I hope this doesn't mean that we're all going to be stranded?"

"Either that," the elder Nabiki remarked as she glanced at the older Ranma, "Or somebody's gonna have to call dispatch and fetch a Taxi..."

Continuum #30197684

Both Ranma and Shampoo gasped upon finding themselves somewhere else in the presence of the mysterious Akira. Although time travel was not an entirely new experience for either teenager, the sudden transition from one place and climate to the other was more than a little bit disorienting. It took several seconds for either one to realize that they were standing in the middle of the Amazon village of Joketsuzoku with bodies stretched out everywhere as far as the eye could see them.

"What the...?" the redheaded Ranma stared in horrified amazement.

"My people!" Shampoo cried in dismay, "What happen to Shampoo village?"

"This is what I brought you here to prevent, Grandmother," Akira replied, urging them both to follow her as she stepped gingerly past the bodies towards a given destination, "They're not all dead yet, and there's still time to save them, but you've got to come with me."

"Where are we going?" Ranma asked.

"To see my friend, the Doctor," Akira called over her shoulder, but when she saw the two hesitate she added, "Look, I don't have time to explain. I'm sorry I brought you here so suddenly, but it's an emergency! We need you to help save my people."

Ranma and Shampoo exchanged looks then started to follow the strange girl as she led the way towards a large building that Shampoo recognized as the Council Chamber of the Elders.

Inside what they found was an emergency hospital in full operation with dozens of bodies being tended to by a pair of outsiders who were clearly not Amazon in origin. One of these-a tall man with curly brown hair wearing a long frock coat and a multi-colored scarf-the other a woman who resembled him in both dress and appearance. The man looked up as Akira called out to him, smiled and then said, "Ah, back already? Good! And I see you brought them both just like I asked."

"Doctor," Akira indicated the two astonished teenagers trailing behind her, "These are my grandparents before they were married. I hope we're not too late to save them!"

"Grandparents?" Ranma blinked her eyes while Shampoo's widened.

"Not at all," the Doctor said as he came to join them, smiling as he took Ranma's hand and shook it, "My dear boy...or should I say girl at the moment? It's so good to see you once again, the years have been kind to you and your lovely fianc e..."

"Uh...?" Ranma said in a slightly higher than normal voice, "Fiancee?"

"Right this way, come along," the tall man insisted, heading towards the far end of the chamber while the other figure tending to the sick looked up in surprise, revealing the face of a beautiful young girl dressed very similarly to the Doctor.

Ranma was sure her capacity for surprise had already been taxed to the limit when he and Shampoo were presented to a pair of figures laid out side-by-side on matching cots. The surprise came when he and his companion recognized both figures as a much older version of her male self and Shampoo stretched out and unconscious. Akira wasted no time rushing up to the side of the purple-haired matron, kneeling down to take one of her hands between her own before murmuring softly, "Grandmother?"

Reddish-brown eyes slowly opened as the yet-handsome Shampoo of the future tried to focus upon her grandson, then in a weak voice the matronly figure said, "Did you bring them like I asked, Akira my darling?"

"Yes Grandmother," the girl said reverently before indicating the two wide-eyed youths in question, "They're here...or you both are...or...well...something like that."

The purple haired woman smiled tolerantly and said, "You have done well, child. Your mother and father will be proud of you. Doctor?"

"I'm here, Matriarch," the Doctor replied, ignoring the gasp of surprise that came from Shampoo's direction.

"The Virus..." the woman tried to say, but her strength was obviously failing.

"There's no danger of any further infections," the Doctor replied, "The Daleck virus isn't transmissible in its secondary stage, and Helexia and I have taken the liberty to inoculate everyone with a drug that will delay the final stage for a few more hours. That should be sufficient time to create a vaccine with the assistance of your younger self and that of your husband..."

"Husband?" Ranma reacted with further amazement.

"Yes," the Doctor smiled as he turned towards Ranma, "Thanks to that phenomenal constitution of yours I should be able to synthesize the antidote using your enzymes, and those of your companions. There really is no harm to either of you, but we must act fast if we are to save the lives of everyone in this village."

"Our help?" Shampoo asked, "What must we do?"

"I'll require a sample of your blood," the Doctor replied, "From each of you. There's not a moment to lose, this way to my laboratory. Helexia, I could use your assistance."

"Yes Father," the brown haired girl straightened out, following the tall man as he ushered a much bewildered Ranma and Shampoo towards the nearest available exit...

Continued.

Comments/Criticisms/Cytoplasmic Gene Therapy: shadowmane

It all comes together in the next chapter...be there!

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	12. Chapter 12

RanBites11

Realities Byte

By Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others Including the writers of the Altered Destinies and Convergences Series.)

Chapter 11

Split Infinities.

Continuum #30197684

"There now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Ranma flexed his arm and glanced at the bandage that covered the place where he had been injected with the serum. He glanced over at his wife, who smiled back at him in spite of her wan complexion, then he turned to look at his younger counterpart and said, "Domo arigato."

"Hey, don't sweat it," that Ranma chuckled, "Just glad that we could help out. Is everybody going to make it?"

"Oh yes," replied Helexia, who was already changing cylinders on the hypospray unit that she was using to inject other patients, "We have enough serum to cure everybody now that we've synthesized the antidote using Antigens to stimulate your immune system so that we could use your antibodies as the chemical basis for the vaccine."

"You see, old Chap," the Doctor began, "You have a very rare constitution that has been supercharged with life energy due to your intense training in the martial arts. It enables you to recover rapidly from injuries that would incapacitate a less able-bodied human. In some respects your immune system resembles what we naturally have on Galafry..."

"That's all very interesting, Doctor," said Matriarch Shampoo, "But I'm afraid a science lecture would go completely over their heads, as it would my husband's. I'd like a moment alone with these two if you and Helexia wouldn't mind."

"Oh, not at all," the Doctor smiled, picking up his medical tools and stuffing them into his pockets, "I quite understand. We have many other patients to tend to anyway. Come along, Helexia."

"Yes Father," the girl replied, giving a parting glance towards Ranma that seemed to hint of more than a passing interest.

The younger Shampoo flashed an annoyed glance to the departing female, only to start as she heard her older counterpart's chuckle, "Some things never change. I remember what it felt like in the old days when it seemed as if every female in Japan or China seemed to be out to gain you for themselves, my husband."

"Yeah, don't I know it," the older Ranma chuckled, "Sometimes I wonder how I ever survived those years. Sometimes it felt like everybody I met either wanted to date me or kill me, one or the other and sometimes both. That's one of the advantages of moving here to China, where at least the Amazons respect Shampoo enough not to challenge me to be their husband."

"It wasn't that simple keeping my hold on you," the Matriarch playfully punched her husband's arm, though the blow lacked her usual strength. She turned to the younger pair looking at them with curious eyes and said, "No doubt you have a lot of questions, such as why is Ranma here with me instead of Akane."

"Right off the bat, Junior," her husband smiled, "She didn't win me over with aphrodisiacs or mushrooms."

"Uh..." Ranma said, glancing to the side at the Shampoo who was roughly his own age and seeing her glance back with equal uncertainty, "So...what did make you choose her over Akane?"

"No one thing," the older Ranma snorted as he tried to stand up, shaking off the Matriarch's attempt at restraining him, "I'll make it, Hon. The day I can't stand on my own two feet..."

He toppled forward, leaving the older Shampoo to finished, "Is the day you land on your fool face, husband. You should listen to the Doctor, he said you needed more time to get your full strength back."

The older Ranma managed to catch himself, then after a moment of intense concentration he was able to push himself into a kneeling position. His body began to glow with a blue aura as he made the effort to stand, then finally got to his feet, swaying a little until he was able to maintain his balance.

"You see?" the older Ranma smirked, "Nothing I can't handle."

The Matriarch stuck her tongue out at him, then shook her long purple mane of hair before turning back to their younger counterparts, "As you can see you haven't changed much in all these years, while I've had to grow up a bit to fit into my role as great grandmother's replacement. She passed away a number of years ago...and I've been trying to fulfill my vow to her to look after our people ever since. This latest incident tested my resolve to the limits, but with the help of our friend, the Doctor, and the courage of our grandchild, we have prevailed once more over those who would destroy us."

"As I was starting to say," the older Ranma resumed, "There wasn't any one reason why I finally picked Shampoo over Akane. Maybe I just got tired of being hit for no reason, or having her shove her attempts at cooking down my throat, or the fact that she never listened to me when Shampoo would, or maybe I just came to my senses and realized what a great thing had fallen into my lap, and what a dope I was to always snub her for someone who acted like she hated my guts. I just know that one day Nabiki challenged me over the fact that I wasn't contributing anything to her family, and I was thinking...what really did I owe either her or the Tendos? They let me and Pop stay at their house because of a promise made to Mister Tendo, but in exchange for that promise I was supposed to sacrifice the rest of my life and whatever happiness I could have to live with a Tomboy who thought that violence was some new kind of foreplay."

"Of course it didn't hurt that Mousse read you the riot act and told you all about what would happen to me at the end of two years if I didn't marry you," the Matriarch said sweetly.

"Huh?" the older Ranma blinked, glancing to his wife nervously, "You...knew about that?"

"I didn't have to beat it out of him to know that Mousse had filled you in on the darker half of our customs," the Matriarch said with a gentle, loving expression, "You were far too honorable-even in those days-to let me go back to China in disgrace and risk banishment from my people. You know that I would never allow my family to live with the shame, and I'd learned something about honor just from being around you, and self-sacrifice besides. I might have said something then, but at the time I was just too grateful to have you under any circumstances. I was that desperate. Sorry."

"Huh," the older Ranma sniffed, "I'm the one who should be sorry for putting you through all that in the first place. It just took me a couple of years to figure out you really meant it when you said you loved me. Akane never could say that, even though I think she felt that way near the end. I always thought it was just your laws that was making you say that."

"And now you know better," the Matriarch turned from him and sought out the younger Shampoo, "Don't ever give up on true love, my self. It's nearer than you think, if you only have the patience."

The younger Shampoo, who was now dressed in Amazon clothing very similar to what she had worn when she had first encountered Ranma, gazed back at this more mature version of herself, who did not seem like a woman past middle age. There was a vitality about this Shampoo that reminded her greatly of her great grandmother, and yet there were signs of her years about her eyes, as if this woman was used to the gravity and responsibility of her office.

"Shampoo understand," she told her older self, "But...time not Shampoo's to decide..."

""Cause you're coming up on the end of two years since the day we met?" the younger Ranma asked, and was rewarded by seeing the guilty start in the eyes of his companion, "I'm right, aren't I? At the end of two years you have to go back and tell everybody about your failure. So why didn't you ever tell me about that, huh? You didn't think I ought to know?"

The purple haired girl tried to speak, but for a moment words failed her until at last she was able to gasp, "Shampoo...was afraid you no like her, Ranma. She try everything to make you notice her, but you no leave Akane. Shampoo...I try very hard to be girl you like, to change ways, be more like girl you could marry..."

"But I was afraid to tell you for the simple fact that you probably wouldn't have believed me," the Matriarch said, "You'd have thought it was another lie, a trick to make you come back with me to China, to leave that violent girl you were going to marry behind and come make a life with me. I didn't want you feeling trapped, I thought you would have hated me for that."

"Thing is," the older Ranma said, "The real clincher for me was when I told Akane that I had to go to China to straighten things out with Shampoo and her people, to see that nothing bad happened to her. I meant to come back to Nerima, I just wanted a little time to see that everything worked out all right, and you know what? Akane beat me up and threw me out of the House, told me never to come back again. She said I wasn't worth the trouble..." he looked away, his face tight as if he were struggling with his emotions, It took a moment before he could continue, "I spent the night out at Ucchan's explaining what I wanted to do with her. She was mad at me too, but she said she'd come along and help me, saying she didn't trust Shampoo and wanted to make sure I didn't get sucked into some Amazon trap..."

"And she's still here in Joketsuzoku," Shampoo smiled, "Married to an Amazon husband. If you wait around she'll probably show up to pay her respects. She's even become my best friend, if you can possibly believe that."

"She's one of those new age Amazons who has business ties to the outside world," Ranma added, "She's our main contact with Japan, even business partners with Nabiki."

"Nabiki?" Ranma asked, "So you're still on good terms with the Tendos?"

Ranma snorted, "Wasn't always like that. Akane showed up at Ucchan's the next morning and tried to talk me out of going to China. She offered to come along, but I knew she'd just get in the way, and by that time I'd already made my mind up to call off our engagement. She was contrite about the angry things she'd said about Shampoo the night before, but I couldn't ever look at her the same way again knowing she'd turn her back on a friend because of jealousy. I told Pop and Mister Tendo I was leaving and that caused a real scene with Soun Tendo banishing me from ever setting foot on his doorstep. For twenty years we didn't even speak to each other, and Akane finally married Ryoga. Didn't find out about that until the day their kid wandered up on our doorstep and wound up being challenged by my eldest daughter."

"Your daughter?" Shampoo looked from him to the Matriarch.

"Spring," the older Shampoo's eyes lit up with pride, "The proudest of all my accomplishments, not including my well meaning Grandson, whom you've already met. She and her husband are being tended to in my family's ancestral House..."

"Husband, huh?" the younger Ranma sniffed, "Well, I sure hope he's good enough for her. What's his name?"

"Hibiki," the older Ranma smiled, "Yep, that's right, he's Ryoga's kid. Looks like the old pact between the Tendos and Saotome's was fulfilled after all, it just took another generation to come about."

"Our children healed the rift between families," the Matriarch smiled, then added, "Who knows? Perhaps Akira or one of his siblings will one day marry a Kuonji, and won't that be perfectly ironic?"

"It's funny," the older Ranma said, "All those times Akane used to beat me up and call me names, it just made me more determined to court her, like it was some kind of a challenge I couldn't resist. If it wasn't for Shampoo...who knows? For all her faults, Akane wasn't really that bad a person in those days, it was just me with my stuck-up pride, I could never say or do the right things to make her smile at me the way I wanted. We just weren't right for each other, but for two years I was going around looking at the whole thing like we were fated to be married."

"More like institutionalized," the Matriarch sniffed, "But to be perfectly honest I didn't make myself all that attractive to you by going around declaring that I was going to kill Akane for being an obstacle to my plans. I had a lot of growing up to do myself in those days. I'm just glad Akane chose someone who could support her through the difficult times and help her overcome those inner demons that were making her so unhappy."

"We all did things that we're not proud about back then, Hon," the older Ranma said solicitously, touching his wife's chin with affection and earning a smile in return before turning back to his younger self and resuming, "I thought all I had going for me was my martial arts, to be the best in the world, to never back down from a fight and always stand up for my honor. It was hard letting go, like I was admitting to being a failure by letting Ryoga win out, but you know what? Letting go turned out to be the best way to win after all. By giving up on my stupid pride it turns out I came up a winner. You'll have to make up your mind about that yourself one of these days, Junior, I just hope you wind up as happy with your choices as I am."

The Matriarch pushed herself off her cot and tried to stand, but like with Ranma she was still too weak and her legs would not support her. Her husband was at her side in an instant, catching her before she could fall. His grip steadied her until she could regather her strength to make the attempt to stand again, then she pushed herself erect and said, "My people must see that I am still strong, they must believe that they will all recover..."

"They need to see you get better first," Ranma insisted as he stubbornly kept his hands on her arms as if still ready to support her.

The Matriarch flashed him a look of mild exasperation, but there was love in her eyes even as she fought against the smile that brought color back to her expression. The younger Ranma saw this, but what made his eyes grow wide was the matching look of deep affection his older counterpart gave his Amazon wife. There was no doubt or hesitation there, only firm resolution and a tacit acknowledgement that he would sooner die than let her out of his embrace.

Ranma stared long and hard at his older self, seeing a virtual giant of a man who had several inches more height and a great deal more muscle on his lean, compact frame. Though his face was hardened with traces of weathering about his features he did not look to be in his early sixties. There were no gray hairs in evidence, no slackening in form or motion. Though obviously he had led a full and active life there were no signs that he was in any way slowing down or losing his momentum, and like the other Shampoo herself he seemed well preserved in spite of the seasons.

There was none of the bitterness about this man that had been present in the Ranma he had so recently been brawling with in the streets of Nerima. There was none of the grim fatalism that had attended that other Ranma, nor a trace of the self-loathing and resentment that had seemed to well up from inside that fellow with the blackest of all depressions. It was not difficult to decide which of the two men he would prefer to become in the future.

He turned to see the younger, softer features of his companion as Shampoo turned from her own critical self-examination to look back at him with an almost mirror image of his own fascination. This Shampoo-HIS Shampoo-had softer features and was young with the rosiness of a spring blossom. Even her more exotic beauty was a source of fascination that he had never before allowed himself to experience, but now that he was starting think about it-Hell, he was probably thinking for the first time, really, he wondered why he had been blind to the reality.

He cared about her...or-more to the point-he cared about what happened, or would happen if her fate remained unaltered.

He turned back to his counterpart and said, "Is this really my future?"

"How should I know?" his older self replied, "Timetravel's more the Doctor's line of work than mine. All I know is that your fate isn't set in stone, Junior. The future's what you make it, so maybe you can wind up like me, or maybe not. That's what makes it so exciting."

"The creatures who did this to you..." Shampoo began, but the Matriarch answered her question, "They, too, might be a part of your fate, or they may not. The Daleks proved to be one of many challenges that have colored my reign as Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku. They came here to test a biological weapon on what they believed was a simple rustic village, but in the end Ranma and I turned their own weapons against them, but not before they fired off a missile that landed here and contaminated our people."

"Good thing the virus they used was meant to be short-lived," Ranma said, "Fire it off and watch your enemies die then move in and claim their territory once the virus has run its course. Nasty stuff, but they got as bad as they gave, and it turns out they were even more susceptible to the virus than we were, which is probably why they wanted to test it. All we had to do was crack their casings and it clogged their intakes."

"They underestimated us and our resolve," the Matriarch said, "But they would have won in the end if not for the courage of our grandson, who obeyed my wishes by seeking you both out. Now the only question is...should we allow you to go back to your own time with the knowledge you have gained of our future?"

"What you mean?" Shampoo asked.

"It's simple, Kitty-cat," the older Ranma replied, "Like the Doctor just got done reminding us a while ago, interfering in the past can be dangerous business. Knowing something about the future means you might do things a lot different than you would have done in your own time on your own. It's up to you whether or not you want to carry the burden of that knowledge. We could block those memories if you want..."

"No thanks," Ranma said, "I'll keep it in my head and I won't tell anybody. It's not like anybody back home would believe us."

"Shampoo agree with Ranma," Shampoo said, smiling at him, "We go back to own time we no tell what we see. Is best this way, and maybe we one day be where you is and do things all over."

"Oboy," the older Ranma rolled his eyes, "To live that mess all over again? Good luck with that!"

"Okay," Ranma said, "Next question, how do we get back? From what we hear that time-travel thingie doesn't always work like advertised, and we'd hate to get lost finding our way to our own present."

"Maybe you can ask the Doctor for a lift," the older Ranma said, "I'm sure he can swing it so you make it back to the right coordinates. At least I think he can do it..."

"Just look for him and he'll take you to the Tardis," the Matriarch said.

"Tardis?" Shampoo raised her purple eyebrows.

"Yeah," the older Ranma chuckled, "You can't miss it. It's the only place in all of China where you can find an old English style Police Call box."

"And if this works, maybe we help other children get back to own worlds," Shampoo said brightly, and had the odd pleasure of seeing her older self look at her in confusion.

"Other children?" the Matriarch said.

"Never mind," Ranma sniffed, "You guys would never believe it..."

2.

Continuum #24968173

Roll Call:

Spring Saotome Rinse Saotome Ranko Saotome Eidolon Kuno Akira Hibiki Yinra Saotome Watazashi Saotome Dragon Tendo Lylac Tendo Yangra Saotome Yaun-Yen Tendo Chi Kuno Shamran Tendo Tachi Kuno Takane Kuno Sachio Kuno Ryokoma Saotome Ryoukio Hibiki Razor Hibiki Minos Taro Fragrance KuonjiBelldandy TofuKengo Yatai Kuonji Belldandy Taro Storm Saotome Ivory Kuno Jonma Saotome Breeze Steinberg Lightning SaotomeBrand Tendo Twilight Saotome Belldandy Kuno Godai Hibiki Okami Saotome Dai Yen Tendo Shinji Kuonji Ryonami Hibiki Kimiko Tendo Rui Hibiki Rei Saotome Towel Kuonji Chameleon Kurenai Kimiko Hibiki Atsuko Hibiki Incense Tendo Kanazuchi Taro Takomo Arigami

Perhaps it was inevitable with so many highly trained martial artists gathered in one place, and it was asking for trouble when coupled with such volatile personalities still locked in the hormonal struggle of teenaged angst. Whatever the case, it had not taken long for a brawl to break out among the ranks of the time displaced warriors, and before too long one half of their number was locked in the middle of the all out melee while the other half stood on the sidelines either offering comments or laying bets with one of the spawn of Nabiki.

"I'll give you two to one odds that Minos cleans the stables," said Dai Yen.

"No way," Tachi replied, "Five to one says Rinse cleans their clocks but solid."

"You're on," Yuan-Yen smiled, "I say Watazashi will wrap this up in no time flat. I think pretty-boy over there might be a strong second if he makes it to the finish."

"Jonma?" Dai Yen sniffed, "She's tough no doubt about it, but it looks to me as if she's got some pretty strong competition."

Lylac just shook her head and sighed, "This brawling is so unproductive. Looks like Shamran's having a good time, but I worry about poor Ryo-chan..."

"Yeah, your brother's a cutie all right," Incense sniffed, "But he doesn't stand a chance against the likes of Towel and Lightning."

It was enough to make a mother proud, and Nabiki had to fight back her emotions as she watched these five debating the point back and forth while giving odds and making wagers. About the only one of the kids who claimed to be her offspring from some parallel or alternate timeline was the odd one out, Chameleon, who seemed to be have disguised him(her?)self as a trash can in a place where Nabiki knew perfectly well no such receptacle should be stationed.

"Don't tell Kanazuchi I'm here, Mom, pretty please?" he asked when he noticed her looking at him.

"Kanazuchi?" Nabiki asked with lifted eyebrows.

"The tall one who looks so much like your sister."

Nabiki glanced out over a sea of bobbing heads and found it remarkably easy to pick out the girl in question. She was indeed much taller than Akane, and had longer hair, but the way she fought with the strength of a medium-sized gorilla left no doubt about her parentage. Those were Akane's moves, added to another style that she belatedly recognized as belonging to Pantsaru Taro.

For Ukyo the moment was even more bizarre, and the number of kids waving bakers peels in the middle of the brawl was making her feel somewhat light-headed. The boy who had formerly looked like a human cat until doused with hot water was struggling to hold his own next to another boy who looked surprisingly like him, and a third who somewhat resembled Mousse, while the one who most closely resembled Ranma was easily keeping his foes at a reasonable distance.

About the only one not fighting of those who had identified themselves as originating with her was the strange Amazon girl named Fragrance, who held two large spatulas, one in either hand, but held back on the sidelines discouraging anyone from coming close to Ukyo. The way she held the things made it seem almost like they were a pair of broad axes.

Meanwhile Mousse was having troubles of his own, confronted by three kids who refused to participate in the melee. The one named Ivory was lecturing him on the virtues of considering someone else besides Shampoo for a love interest while the ones named Brand and Dragon stood to the side and looked vaguely troubled.

Of course a fight of this nature was bound to draw unwanted attention, and it happened by in the person of Happosai, who took one look at the mass of striking beauties and reacted in character, throwing himself into their midst with a hearty, "SWEEETOOO!"

Of course what the ancient master did not know, and therefore could not take into account, was that many of these selfsame lovelies had their own Happosais, and thus knew how to react to the well-familiar attempt at hit-and-run glomping. Nearly everyone who was free to react joined in with one massive Ki-backed wallop that sent Happosai soaring into the stratosphere with every chance that he would not complete his arc until he was mid-way over China.

This moment of unity did not last, of course, and once the distraction was removed everyone resumed their previous quarrels with the nearest available outlet for their aggression.

"This is nuts," said the mature-looking Ranma, "We ought to put a stop to this..."

"Oh, let them have their fun for now, Saotome," the older Nabiki said, "They need to work it out of their systems while we try to figure out the best way of sending them back where they came from."

"You do know how to do that, don't you, daughter?" Soun asked this Nabiki.

"Oh sure," the mature Nabiki said, glancing at her wrist-dial, "We just need to reverse the process that brought them here in the first place. Their Quantum signatures should re-align with their proper timelines. The problem is that amulet they were using is no longer here. Without that we may just have to do this the hard way."

"You mean load them up in a Van and shift to the right coordinates?" Ryoga asked.

"Try a chartered bus," Ranma sniffed, "Or else we'll have to make numerous trips back and forth to and from the future."

Akane glared sideways at Ryoga and growled, "Explain to me why I don't just pound you into a grease spot, Ryoga. You've been lying to me for two years pretending to be my P-chan..."

"I didn't do that deliberately," Ryoga replied, "It was an accident, I wound up in your room, then you sort-of adopted me and...well...I was lonely..."

"So you spied on me, listened to my private thoughts and saw me undress?" Akane said the latter part with clenched fists.

"No," Ryoga said, "I mean, not the part about you undressing. I always closed my eyes and refused to look, remember? I wasn't after your body, I wanted your love...I'm sorry."

Akane frowned as she looked up at the tall man that Ryoga had become in a different life. There was pain in his expression and when he met her gaze his eyes were full of misery. He looked away hastily rather than see the reproof in her accusing expression. She had always thought Ryoga to be an honorable man, but she was no longer certain that she knew the man before her.

In her mind she half expected to hear Ranma's tart insult about who would want to look at a Tomboy like her when she was naked. Instead the heard the older Ranma say, "Akane, I know you find it hard to believe, but Ryoga's been punishing himself for well over twenty years, imagining what you'd think about him when you finally found out about his curse. It wasn't really his fault in the beginning, and you were the one who kept dragging P-chan off to bed, so don't act all innocent about it."

"Who asked you?" Akane glared, "And since when did you take his side over me? I thought you were the one who always chased P-chan around the house..."

"Because I was jealous about all the attention you gave him," Ranma replied, "I was nuts about you in those days, but I couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth, and I couldn't violate the warrior's code by telling you about Ryoga."

"Why not?" Akane felt her anger rise like an old, familiar ally, "If you had only told me the truth this never would have happened!"

"And what was I gonna tell you?" Ranma asked, "That it was my fault that he got knocked into that cursed spring, that I teased and tormented him for two years trying to get him to leave you alone? That I only snuck into your room those few times at the beginning to try and get Ryoga to expose himself so I wouldn't have to break my promise? Yeah, that was really something I felt like sharing back then..."

"Stop it, Ranma," Ryoga growled, "I don't deserve your standing up for me. Akane's right, what I did was unforgivable. There's no excuse for my betraying her trust, even if I had the best intentions. It was selfish and short-sighted and I was wrong to try and interfere with you and your engagement to Akane..."

"Oh stop it already," the older Nabiki said, "This mutual admiration society stuff is going to make me ill. You two both made your share of mistakes, but what about me? I knew about Ryoga's curse and I just used it to blackmail him into doing what I wanted..."

"You what?" Akane blurted while the younger Nabiki looked suddenly quite nervous.

"Well, I wasn't alone in keeping this a secret," Nabiki turned an accusing look towards her father, "You knew all about it, too, Daddy. Why didn't you say something?"

"Me?" Soun winced, then gulped before saying, "Well...it wasn't really any of my business, I mean...I never really thought that the boy would do anything improper with my daughter..."

"DID EVERYBODY IN THIS FAMILY KNOW ABOUT THE CURSE BESIDES ME?" Akane turned an accusing stare, seeing a blank look from Nodoka and Kasumi while Genma seemed to be looking in the opposite direction.

"Ow," winced Twilight, "Lower the volume. Some of us have sensitive hearing."

"Oh my," Kasumi said with mild alarm as she watched the tall boy named Minos go down from a stunning roundhouse delivered by the girl named Ranko, "They certainly are being energetic. I hope no one is actually injured during all of this activity."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about it, Mother," said Kimiko Tendo, "Okami-chan knows what he is doing, and he's taking it easy on the others on account that they are family."

"Okami-chan?" one of the Belldandys looked at her curiously, "Do you mean to say..."

"He's my fianc e," the purple haired girl smiled, "We're hoping to be married by the time we graduate High School."

"Well, congratulations," said the second Belldandy, "I think that's wonderful news, don't you agree, sister?"

"Eh?" the third Belldandy said without looking up from her furious sketching, "Oh yes, it's quite nice..."

"As fascinating as all of this is," Asuka growled, "I still want to know how we're going to get back to our own time, Verdammit!"

"A very good question," Lylac replied, "Too bad we didn't have Ekko here with us on this little adventure."

"Ekko?" asked Tachi.

"Yeah," Fragrance replied, "Eileen Kent Kane Managi Daitokuji, who we call Ekko for short, the smartest, strongest, toughest girl in our High School, and a real wizard when it comes to this science stuff. Her Fama's the smartest woman in the whole world, and she could figure out the solution to our problem in nothing flat. Heck, she might even be able to fabricate a time machine out of used auto parts and bailing wire."

"There's that word again," Nabiki frowned, "Fama. What does it mean?"

"Father-mother," Lylac replied, "It applies to a child with two mothers, like...say you had a Jusenkyo curse that turned you into a man, and you make love to another woman and she gets pregnant with your child, you would therefore become both the father and second mother to such a union."

"That's disgusting!" Akane growled.

"No it's not," Fragrance replied, "It's perfectly natural. I've got two mothers myself, and I don't see how that makes me any different from anyone else here."

"Indeed," Eidolon agreed, "You should try to be more open minded and less conventional in your thinking, Tendo-san, or those of us whom you slander would have cause to judge you the same way on the basis of your parents."

The future Ranma glanced at his Nabiki, seeing the way she was staring at these youths with a very rare wide-eyed appraisal, for which he could hardly blame her. He was feeling much the same way every time his eyes fell upon the dark haired girl named Watazashi, whose fighting technique was disturbingly familiar, being an odd blend of Saotome school with Rhythmic Gymnastics. He admitted to being impressed with her technique, and she was one hell of a fighter, but her resemblance to a certain other woman named Kuno was enough to give him sleepless nightmares. In fact this whole experience was causing him a bewildering array of conflicting emotions.

At the moment Watazashi was duking it out with the purple haired Rinse, who gave back as good as she got but was evenly matched by the agile brunette, who fought both bare-handed and with a variety of weapons.

"I thought you weren't supposed to use full contact in Rhythmic Gymnastics," Rinse called out as she and Watazashi circled one another looking for openings.

"I make my own rules, thank you very much," Watazashi replied tartly.

"Rules?" Razor turned to look at her, "I thought this was a fight! What do rules have to do with that?"

"How about coming here and letting me spell it out for you, Pig?" Jonma taunted.

"Pig?" Razor snarled, "I'm not the one with a Jusenkyo curse, like Dad! Look at you! I can't tell if you're a guy or a girl!"

"That's it, buddy!" Jonma snarled, "You've had it!"

Before the fateful clench could be completed, however, a sound cut through the din that made everyone turn their heads and back away from their closest sparring partner. The weird sound increased until at last an object materialize in the middle of a clear space in the combat zone, large and box-like and painted red on the outside. A moment later the side-doors on the Police Call Box opened up as a tall Gaijin wearing a floppy hat and a long coat with a multi-colored scarf stepped out, looked around and said, "Oh dear...is this the set of a local movie? I was wondering if anyone here might be able to guide me to a place called Nerima...?"

"Oh no," Ranma-senior groaned, "Not him again!"

"Large as life and five times more annoying," his Nabiki snorted.

"Oh, I dunno," Ryoga said, "I've got some very good memories of my time with the Doctor..."

As the tall Gaijin stepped out of the box he was followed by a brown haired girl whose coat strongly resembled his. Following her came Shampoo and Ranma, who looked around at the signs of battle, to which the latter remarked, "Did we miss anything? Looks like you started the party without us."

"Ranchan!" Ukyo cried in delight, "You're back!"

"That's obvious enough," Akane snorted, "He's probably been out getting into even more trouble with that Bimbo."

The combatants called a unanimous truce while anyone still able to got back to their feet and gave a wide berth to these new arrivals. The tall Gaijin scanned the crowd until he caught sight of the older Ranma, Nabiki and Ryoga and smiled, waving a hand to the younger Ranma and Shampoo as he said, "I come bearing gifts to you all on behalf of an old friend, who requested the favor."

"Doctor," the older Nabiki replied, "What a pleasant surprise. I see you found our wayward Saotome. I trust that whatever the emergency was it has been effectively dealt with?"

"You could say that," Ranma replied, taking in the sight of his many Paratime children with a slightly disturbed expression, "What was all the fuss here about, or should I ask?"

"Nothing much, Father," said Okami as he slung his Bakers Peel over his back, "Just some issues that we needed to sort out."

"Sibling Rivalry, mostly," Storm suggested.

"Hey, it was fun," Lightning shrugged, "So sue me."

"Yeah," Shamran grinned, "You do all right. Maybe another time I can show you another kind of maneuver that's not so painful..."

"Would you mind if we steer this back to the subject?" Ryokoma asked, "There are some of us here who'd like the chance to go home now."

"I second the motion," Towel agreed, "All opposed?"

"You'll get no argument from me," Yinra replied, "Right, brother?"

"I'm with you on that, Sis," Yangra replied.

"You got lucky this time," Takane glowered at Yatai.

"How do you figure that?" Yatai shot back, then sighed, "Home sounds wonderful at the moment. This bouncing around through time isn't all it's cracked up to be..."

"Fine," the older Nabiki said, "Then I have only one question for you, Saotome...what happened to the amulet?"

Ranma glanced at Shampoo then reached into his shirt and pulled it out into full view, "The Matriarch said we should take it, that we'd know what to do with it once we got back to Nerima."

"Fine," the older Nabiki said, "Then give it here. I know exactly what we should do with the bloody thing, after I send you all back to your proper timelines."

Ranma closed the gap between them, Shampoo staying close at his side in spite of Akane's accusing glare, then Nabiki held up the pendant and examined it closely before nodding in satisfaction.

"All right," she said, "Everybody get together with the people from the same timeline you all hail from. Keep your groups apart and this should all go smoothly by the numbers."

"You sure about that?" the older Ranma asked.

"We'll find out in another moment," Nabiki replied, holding up the jewel with a peculiar kind of focus as she projected her thoughts into the amulet, [If you know what's good for you, you'll cooperate with me, Buster.]

Everyone separated into their familiar groups, some exchanging last-minute pleasantries as they parted ways. Rinse smiled at Watazashi and said, "Next time."

"Count on it," Watazashi smiled back, almost in grudging admiration.

"Y'know, this was kind of fun," Rui said to Yinra before linking arms with Takomo.

"I guess," Yinra chuckled before she went to join her twin brother.

"The folks back home aren't gonna believe this," Shamran said to Jonma.

"It has been a pleasure to meet you, dear sister," Dai Yen bowed to Yuan-Yen, only to hastily amend when Watazashi glared at him, "Of course it could never work out, being that you are well spoken for, besides being a close relation."

"It'll be good to go home," Razor said with a wistful expression, "I already miss my Mom's home cooking."

"You and me both, buddy," Minos agreed as they struck knuckles together in passing.

"Goodbye everybody," Belldandy said to Belldandy, Belldandy and Kimiko, "It's been so nice meeting everybody."

"Tell me about it," Twilight grinned, "All our family powwows ought to be this exciting."

"Omigosh!" said Ryoukio, "That right, we never did find out what our folks wanted to tell us at that meeting."

"Count your blessings on that," Tachi sniffed, "With any luck, by the time we get back they'll have well forgotten."

"About time," said Breeze, who joined Shinji, Rei and Atsuko, "I just hope Mother accepts my reasons for being away from my post. Nothing worse than being grounded when you're already on a ship, it's kind of redundant."

Okami turned to his Kimiko and said, "Now all we have to worry about is explaining the mess we left back home to your parents."

"You're not blaming this on me," Kanazuchi growled while keeping a firm grip on the androgynous looking Chameleon.

"Too bad we didn't get to show your true potential," Takane mused as he rubbed shoulders with Sachio Kuno.

"We'll call it a fair fight it you will," Lightning said with an affable grin.

"We have enough excitement to concern us back home," Storm reminded her.

"Good luck to you, then," Lylac replied, "We'll have our own hands full trying to explain why we were late for class this morning."

"School?" Ryokoma groaned, "And I thought there was one good thing about this..."

Nabiki waited until everyone was in place then scanned the different groups, marking out the different timelines before nodding in satisfaction, then she held the pendant aloft in one hand while closing her eyes and raising the other hand to make a mystical sign while she concentrated her inner power.

"Spirits of Time, flow and gather around this lot,  
To their separate points from whence they came I bid them return, their homes do I invoke thee!  
Gather now ye winds into thy fold these wandering Souls, by the power of Almighty Chronos,  
I charge Thee to make haste!"

Cologne was studying the older Tendo girl as she felt the Chi currents being shaped to Nabiki's will. The younger Nabiki was wide-eyed, feeling the hackles raised upon her neck at this invocation, while Akane and Kasumi looked puzzled and Soun Tendo looked speechless.

The energy currents being directed by the older Nabiki's will reached out to enfold the separate groups of teenaged youth, and within seconds they each were surrounded by a bluish glow, which same faded out again, along with forty-six time displaced youths, leaving in their wake the signs of recent battle and one untouched police call box. The silence that followed was as absolute as a shrine before the Doctor turned to Nabiki and said, "Very well done. You performed that a lot better than the last person I heard use a ritual of dismissal."

Nabiki sighed, feeling weary and wavering a bit on her feet. Before she knew what was about, however, she found Ranma's hand steadying her, and when she looked up into his eyes she saw him smile in a way that made him seem many years younger.

"Nabiki..." he started to say, then sniffed in self-derision before looking up at her a second time and saying, "I've been a real idiot. Will you forgive me?"

"Hmm," Nabiki inclined her head, "That depends, Saotome, on what you do to make up for it."

"Marry me?" he said softly, earning the second look of surprise from her in the decade.

She glanced around at the astonished onlookers then smiled and said, "Will you excuse us? Ryoga, you can take the car back. Set it on auto-return. Me and Mister Macho here have some discussing to do. If you'll excuse us?"

She put her arms around Ranma and growled, "About bloody time you said that to me, you big jerk. The thing a girl has to do to get herself a husband..."

Ryoga shook his head and smiled, "About time indeed. I was beginning to think those two would never sort things out."

Her voiced trailed off as the blue glow surrounded them, then they-too-  
vanished from sight, prompting Kasumi to remark, "Oh my...I do hope everything turns out well for them. This has been a pretty exciting afternoon, hasn't it?"

"You're telling me, Sis?" Nabiki said drolly.

"I believe this is our cue to leave," the Doctor smiled, turning to his lovely assistant and saying, "Come along, Helexia. No need to overstay our welcome."

"I thought that was what we were best at doing, Father," Helexia replied, giving a last parting smile towards Ranma.

Ranma started to smile back when he felt Shampoo's hand firmly grip him by the shoulder. He glanced at the Amazon nervously and tried to disarm her glower with a boyish smile. This gesture naturally caused a different type of blue glow to appear around Ukyo and Akane, but before it went too far, however, another voice spoke up and said, "Hello? Hey, what happened here? Did I miss everything, and was that the Doctor I just saw leaving?"

"Ryoga?" Akane said, turning away from the sight of the police call box as it faded out from view.

"Uh oh," the older Ryoga winced.

"Ryoga..." Akane turned a glare towards the perpetually lost boy and began stalking in his direction, "I was hoping I'd get the chance to see you again...P-chan!"

"I-uh-huh?" the younger Ryoga said stupidly as he halted in his tracks, his mental gears making the slow grind of putting it all together from the way she addressed him to the gleam in her eyes and her unfriendly disposition. Survival instincts kicked in at the last, giving him just enough time to get a head start as Akane took off after him, kicking up clouds of dust in their passage.

The older Ryoga just shook his head and sighed, "This is gonna hurt."

"Are you going after them?" Nabiki asked, but when she saw his nervous smile she understood at once, "Oh yeah...forget I asked."

Ranma turned to Cologne and said, "Old Ghoul...we've gotta talk."

"Oh?" Cologne adopted her most neutral expression, "What about, Ranma?" she deliberately avoided calling him son-in-law. In spite of the way he was acting around Shampoo there was no reason to get her hopes up...just yet.

"Not here," Ranma scowled in the direction of his father, mother and Soun Tendo, then he turned to Ukyo and said, "All right if we do this at your place, Ucchan?"

"Me?" Ukyo blinked, "But...why?"

"Neutral ground," Ranma said, giving Cologne a hard look before adding, "And what I gotta say needs a witness I can trust. Can you do that for me, Ucchan?"

"I..." Ukyo looked uncertainly from Shampoo to Ranma, then in a small voice replied, "Sure thing, Ranchan."

Nabiki suddenly sensed what Ranma was going to say to Cologne, and it just as suddenly occurred to her that if she did not act immediately she would never get a chance like this again. Not giving herself time to think twice about what she was doing, she all but jumped to Ranma's side and said, "If you're going to talk serious business, Saotome, you might as well have me along to act as your agent."

"My...what?" Ranma blinked at this surprising offer.

"Face it, Saotome," Nabiki said, unselfconsciously mimicking her older counterpart in her tone of address, "You have the worst poker face in the world, and the worst business sense this side of Asia. If I leave it all to you to handle you'll wind up bargaining away your firstborn child or something. You want the best deal, you come to me for advice."

Not giving Ranma time enough to respond she turned to Cologne and said, "My client has a proposal for you, and I'm going to act as his representative and counsel. We straighten this out and it's binding arbitration, you got me?"

"Understood, Tendo-san," Cologne replied with the same bland expression as before, but inwardly she was doing cartwheels. Something significant was about to occur, and where this morning had started with no hope and no future it was beginning to look like the future might be bright for her indeed. Shampoo was looking radiantly happy, and if she was any judge of matters it meant that there was more afoot than either one of them wanted to reveal before Ranma's parents and Soun Tendo.

After all, she mused, there was one impression she had come away with from her own time around the Doctor, and that was the firm conclusion that his Tardis must have either been designed or programmed by someone named Hibiki. If her Great Granddaughter spent any amount of time around her husband, and with the evidence of so many purple haired offspring from the future...could an old woman be blamed for entertaining thoughts about posterity? Whatever terms Ranma was prepared to offer her, Cologne was more than prepared to match them. It was worth more than all the treasures of Joketsuzoku to see the smile in the eyes of Shampoo, and the future was indeed starting to look a whole lot brighter...

Continued.

Comments/Criticisms/Saotome Genealogy Charts: shadowmane

Okay, so I didn't wind it all up in this chapter. There will be an epilogue because I really hate to leave so many plot points dangling. Be there!

If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: . or it's mirror site at: ~ All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.


	13. Chapter 13

Ranbites12

Realities Byte

By Jim Robert Bader

(Inspired by the Works of Rumiko Takahashi &amp; Others,  
Including the authors of the Convergences &amp; Altered Destinies Series)

Epilogue.

Continuum #30274695

Priss looked up as Sylia entered the room. She had remained by Sylvie's side the whole night after the revealed Sexaroid had come out of the makeshift surgery that Sylia and her brother, Mackie, had performed to save her artificial life. Priss's crimson eyes were red-lined and her face was worn with exhaustion, but she looked alertly at her team leader and waited to hear what she had to say about Sylvie and her condition.

Her leader and friend did not keep her long in the dark, "Analysis confirms that the operation was a success. Your friend is out of danger now, Priss, and I have every confidence that she will recover full operational capability now that her autonomic repair systems are functioning normally once again."

Priss heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank god! I was so scared for a while there, Sylia, I thought we were going to lose her, I..."

She saw the look in Sylia's eyes and stopped talking, tensing as she realized that her friend had more to say on the subject of the Boomer, "Priss...you realize that I did this because I have questions of my own that need answering. Your friend...by all accounts, from what I have determined from tests and analysis, is the Vampire murderer that the AD Police are investigating..."

"So?" Priss at once retorted, "We already knew that! I-I just can't believe it of her...that she could do something like that..."

"She is a Sexaroid, Priss," Sylia reminded, "Designed to maintain her artificial systems with human blood. Her former Masters on Genaros deliberately disabled her self-repair systems to maintain her dependence on them, but even given that as a motivation..."

"Fuck motivation!" Priss snapped, "You're not going to judge her because some bastard designed her to be a sex toy for perverts to use like some kind of blow-  
up doll! Besides, we know she needed the blood to save the life of her friend...it-it doesn't justify what she's done, but..."

"Exactly," Sylia replied, "Extenuating circumstances notwithstanding, Sylvie is a machine designed to be used as a weapon system in some illegal scheme relating to Genom..."

"And of course WE never kill anyone in revenge," Priss growled angrily, "Like Mason or his cronies..."

"Mason...was a different case entirely," Sylia reasoned, "And in any case it was self-defense..."

"Bullshit!" Priss was on her feet, angry without even being certain of the focus of her anger, "It was revenge plain and simple, and I'm glad he's dead! That bastard killed a very good friend of mine and left her son, Sho, an orphan! He deserved to die, and I hope he's roasting in Hell right now..."

"But she's right, Priss," murmured a weak voice from the bed, "I am a murderer, I've taken the lives of eleven innocent people. I'm a monster, I ought to be dismantled and recycled for components..."

"Sylvie?" Priss turned at once to the bed, "Don't try to talk, just get your strength back, then we'll discuss this..."

The Sexaroid on the bed smiled weekly up at the rock-star turned mercenary and just sighed, "I'm not a human being, Priss, but I will recover now that my self-  
repair systems are back online. You've been a very good friend to me...better than I deserve, but...Sylia is right, I am a danger to everyone around me..."

"Not anymore," Sylia replied, "I disabled your extraction tubes so you can't drain blood from any more victims, at least not until I'm satisfied that you you're willing to turn over a new leaf."

"A new...leaf?" there was obvious confusion in Sylvie's expression, making her seem even more human in such a vulnerable moment, "I don't understand...is this humor?"

"We're not the police," Sylia said, "Especially not the AD Police, though we do work towards the same basic end in our own special way. We're not obligated to turn you over to them, at least not unless it becomes absolutely necessary. It all depends on your willingness to cooperate..."

"Cooperate?" Sylvie asked with a puzzled look in her artificial eyes.

"You have information that I require," Sylia informed her, "When you are fully recovered I'll want to know everything you know, particularly your story, your contacts, how you got here, who you've met, any possible backers who might be helping you from the sidelines..."

"Sylia!" Priss was on her feet again, twice as offended as before, "I don't believe you! She's not just a machine! You can't treat her like she's a prisoner without rights..."

"Wrong," Sylia said softly but firmly, "She is a machine, and under the law she has no rights..."

"Which makes her no better than a goddamned Slave, but so what?" Priss retorted, "She more than that to me! She's a friend, she's somebody who laughs and cries and has feelings, even dreams..."

"Why are you defending her?" Sylia asked, not in a hostile tone but actually quite curious, "You of all people..."

"What? Because she's a Boomer?" Priss flared, "I know she's a fucking Boomer! I stood right there in the observation booth and watched you operate! I saw how her insides looked the same as mine, just made from artificial parts, right? I also know that she was willing to die to save all our lives last night, so don't try to sell me on any bull about her being just like every other Boomer we go up against! I'm not buying!"

"Priss..." Sylvie's voice trembled with real emotion and there were synthetic tears in her eyes.

Priss knelt down beside her and took the Boomer girl's hand between her own, "You're not just a machine! You're my friend, and I don't believe it was all just a lie what we did together, what we shared, what we felt. It wasn't all a lie, was it?"

"No," Sylvie said quietly, forcing a smile on her lips, which made her tears seem all the more poignant, "It wasn't a lie. You've been very special to me, Priss, the best thing that's happened to me since we left Genaros..."

"We?" Sylia repeated.

Sylvie looked sheepish as she replied, "My...other friend, Anri. We're the only two to make it out of the five of us who tried to escape from Genaros. She doesn't have anything to do with the murders, other than the fact that I stole the blood to maintain her systems. Please don't hold my crimes against her..."

"Perhaps you'd like to tell her this yourself," Sylia smiled, turning towards the door as she added, "There's someone who's been here since last night who wants very much to see you."

Both Priss and Sylvie turned to see the timid figure that stepped into the room, small and girlish with short dark green hair and an expression of deep worry that lightened up when she saw Sylvie look at her with expressive eyes. That was all it took to remove all hesitation to her movements. She crossed the distance to the bed in a few quick steps then all but threw herself onto of Sylvie, weeping out loud, "You're all right! I was so worried...!"

"Anri?" Sylvie gasped, "Have you been here very long?"

"We brought her here after you gave us your address," Sylia replied, "She wanted to see you immediately, but we needed to maintain a sterile environment while Mackie and I repaired your damaged systems..."

"Thank you," Sylvie hugged the other girl to her, then looked up with gratitude and said, "I'll do anything you ask, answer any questions you have. Just be sure you make those modifications to Anri, please? She deserves a chance at life..."

"You both do," Priss looked up at Sylia, "Isn't that right?"

Sylia read the determination in the eyes of her friend before she allowed herself to visibly relax as she said, "I believe we can work something out. Anyone who can turn you into a believer, Priss, is someone worth preserving. Besides, I didn't work throughout half the night just to toss you over to a recycle bin. If you help us to find the one who is responsible for the DD Battlemover incident, you may save many times more lives than what you took as a rogue. I believe that will help balance the scales of justice in your favor."

Priss gave a deep sigh of relief and turned towards the two Boomers. Sylvie looked back at her with a warm, human expression of gratitude and relief while Anri appeared to be nervous and uncertain, but at the sight of Sylvie's smile she smiled back too and looked ready to believe. For the first time in a very long while there was hope in their eyes, and this, too, made them appear all the more human, a testament to their realistic design, or the genius of their designers, who created far more than they could ever have imagined.

There was only one question that still lingered in Priss's mind as she turned back to Sylia and said, "What about that guy who helped us out? Any word about him, Sylia?"

"Ah yes," Sylia nodded sagely, "I did run a search in the archives for the name Hibiki Akira.. It seems that there is a record of a Hibiki Ryoga who lived in the Nerima ward before the great quake of '25, in fact there were quite a few cross-references connecting him to a Saotome Ranma, who also seems to have been rather notorious near the end of the last century. I do know that there is a description of a martial arts technique called the Exploding Point that closely resembles what was used to destroy that Boomer. The Technique was said to be learned from a remote province of China where an ancestral group called the Nyanichiczu Amazons still exist to this day."

"Amazons?" Priss replied, "You've got to be kidding."

Sylia just raised an eyebrow to that and said, "Considering what we take for normalcy, are you really going to play the skeptic about our mysterious benefactor? You saw what he did..."

"Doesn't mean I fucking believe it," Priss snorted.

"Nonetheless the matter bears closer examination," Sylia replied, "Every tool, every weapon we can add to our arsenal is worth further investigation. Perhaps when this matter concerning your friends is resolved we may pay a little visit to China. We can even call it a fact finding mission."

Priss sniffed before turning back to look at Sylvie and her other friend, "I just know I want to shake the hand of the guy who gave us this second chance. If it wasn't for him...I don't know what I...what would have happened without him..."

2.

Continuum #60429381

"Where are they?" Ukyo frowned, "They should have been back from school an hour ago. What could be keeping them so long? And why did they skip out on their morning classes?"

"I don't know, Ucchan," Ranma told his wife, "Hinako-san seemed pretty upset when I talked to her a while ago. According to her they made it to school all right but just up and vanished without a trace along with a bunch of other kids..."

"Including Dai Yen, Rui and Kimiko, Takomo, Eidolon, Taro and Belldandy," Shampoo said as she joined her two mates at the front door to their restaurant, which was currently experiencing a slump in their regular business, "I just got done talking to their parents over the phone. No one's seen any of the children since early morning, and that's just including those families I've been able to get ahold of."

"All the kids are missing?" Ukyo asked, "Now I am starting to worry..."

All at once there was a crackling sound, then a thunderous noise heralding the appearance of a blue glow that caused all three concerned parents to turn around with mutually blank looks as a ball of light appeared briefly, and through it appeared a large object that pulled out in front of the building before coming to an abrupt halt. As the light faded away the object was revealed to be a conventional-looking school bus, complete with students who were crowded inside and behind every window.

The side door opened and out stepped out a bakers dozen of teenagers, three of whom turned out to be their missing children. The group paused to regard the remaining occupants of the bus, some waving, bowing or exchanging pleasantries as the students on the bus waved back, then the vehicle started up once again and a blue glow appeared in front of it all over.

"So long!" Rui called out, "Don't forget to write!"

"Yeah, right," Minos snorted, turning to look towards his sister, "We get home, Bell. Our folks will be worried, and Dad's gonna have a fit when he hears what we've been up to."

"Oh my," Belldandy glanced at her art book and said, "I hope he accepts the drawings I did as proof of the things we saw and the people we met in our travels..."

"Mom, Dad, Fama!" Yatai waved as he and his sisters came up to join them.

"Are we ever glad to see you!" Jonma added, "You won't believe what kind of a day we've been having..."

"What kind of a day?" Ranma asked, "Where have you guys been? Your mothers and I've been worried sick!"

"We're sorry, Father," Twilight smiled her charming, disarming smile that never failed to distract Ranma from any show of temper, "We just got sucked into a little field trip, but we're back now, so what's for dinner?"

"Okonomiyaki, of course," Yatai replied as he smiled, leading the way into the restaurant past three very surprised adults, who each wore matching astonished expressions, "What else where you expecting?"

"Sounds good to me," Jonma grinned, "I'm hungry enough to eat five of them!"

"Just wait until you hear about the people we ran into," Twilight said to the adults as she followed her siblings into the restaurant.

It took a moment before three adult heads turned to scan where their children had just vanished, then Ranma said, "What the heck was that all about?"

"I don't know," Ukyo slowly smiled, "But I've got a feeling we just came in at the end of one heck of an adventure...

3.

Continuum #59343921

A solitary figure with long red hair stood outside the gates of Furinkan High School staring resolutely at the ground as if lost in deep meditative thought. She barely recognized the comings and goings of other students until one voice in particular drew her peripheral attention.

"E-KO!" growled a huge male figure that stormed menacingly towards the redhead, "You've got a lot of nerve showing your face again after what you tried to pull the other day in gym...!"

"Hmm?" Eileen Kent-Kane Managi Daitokuji asked, "What do you want, Tantalus? I'm a bit busy at the moment..."

"You'll make time for me, you freak!" the lumbering man snarled as he came looming over Ekko like an enraged bull about to stomp her underfoot.

Ekko sighed, "I do wish you wouldn't resort to these histrionics, Tantalus. I have no wish to fight you, and any exchanges we do have would be ultimately pointless."

"Don't worry yourself!" the giant growled as he drew back a fist, "I'll make this short, sweet and very, very painful!"

He swung fist the size of a very large mallet at her but the redhead did not even turn to pay notice as her thumb and fore-finger moved to intercept, catching and stopping the fist in mid-swing. The belligerent giant's eyes widened by a fraction as he tried to exert full power against the redhead but Ekko merely sniffed at his efforts, then shifted her muscles.

The boy's eyes got very wide as he struggled with all his might to attempt to free his hand from her steely grip, but Ekko merely altered her balance a little and easily yanked the giant male off his feet. With a casual ease that few could equal she picked Tantalus off the floor and heaved him overhead. As a child might dispose of a used-up toy, so too did Ekko give a casual toss of one hand that sent him flying even farther than he had during the gym incident to which he had been referring.

As the heads of various students turned to watch the other boy sail towards the horizon a voice called out to the redhead, "Ekko-chan! There you are! I'm so glad you waited for me."

"Oh, not at all," Ekko smiled as she turned to bow to the one who hailed her, "I was just working out a few equations in my mind while I was waiting for you to show up, Lylac."

The purple haired girl smiled at her dearest friend then glanced towards where the retreating form had vanished and asked, "Was that Tantalus I just saw making his usual exit?"

"The same," Ekko sniffed, "Don't worry, I angled my throw to make certain he lands in the pool this time. He should be relatively unhurt, if a bit water-  
logged."

"Who's worried?" Lylac replied, "It's not as if you were ever in any real danger."

"Indeed," Ekko replied as the two of them turned towards the main school building, "But I am a bit concerned about that boy. His learning curve certainly leaves much to be desired."

"I wonder if even he remembers what this whole thing is about?" Lylac wondered, "Oh, by the way, something very interesting happened to me and my siblings on the way to school. You are, of course, familiar with cross-parallel time theory?"

"Of course," Ekko replied, "I wrote a thesis on that subject in Middle School, 'The Infinite Variables of Parallel Quantum Wave Theory.'"

"I remember that," Lylac smiled, "Well, this concerns the reality behind that theory, and it poses some fascinating questions about your proposal concerning Probability Alteration and Alternate History remodification..."

"Listen to those two go on like that," Shamran shook her head and sighed, "Sometimes I have trouble believing that we're even related."

"Are they talking Japanese?" Ryokoma asked, "I can't follow any of it, it sounds like complete gibberish."

"So, what are you complaining about, Little Brother?" Fragrance asked, "We're back safe and sound, we're not even late for our classes, and there's even time enough to do some flirting on the side. Speaking of which, here comes your Fan Club to start off the morning."

"Huh?" Ryokoma asked, then winced as he heard a voice call out, "Ryokoma-sama!"

"Oboy," Shamran turned to see the trio of attractive young ladies approaching their position and said, "Back to the same old grind, eh Ryo-chan? Ryo-chan?"

She turned but her brown-haired brother was no where to be seen, only a cloud of dust as one of the approaching trio broke off from the others and cried, "Ailen-  
-come back to Incense! You no get away from me this time!"

"Says you, you Turquoise hussy!" the auburn haired Watazashi cried out as she vaulted forward to catch up with the blue-haired Amazon, leaving behind the light brown haired Belldandy, who covered her mouth with a hand and said, "Oh my..."

"Looks like things are back to normal," Fragrance noted with an amused sniff.

"Guess so," Shamran agreed when her head did an abrupt turn-about as she caught sight of a vision of loveliness with pale pink hair sauntering past their position, someone she did not recognize on sight as she said, "Who is that?"

"Chibi Usa?" Fragrance replied, "She a transfer student from Jubbei, just registered the other day. Nice girl, even has a pet cat she likes to take places. I've been thinking about going up and introducing myself to her and..."

It occurred to Fragrance that she was talking to herself, and a glance to the side confirmed her suspicion that her little sister was in the process of beating her to the punch. A predatory smile crossed her features as Fragrance decided that two could play the same field, so she hurried to catch up with her purple haired sibling, humming a merry tune while thinking up an original line with which to make introductions.

Indeed things were very much back to normal in Nerima...

4.

Continuum #59342718

"Well," Okami said as he stared at the ruins of what had been the front door to the restaurant, "We sure can't leave things like this for your folks to come home and find. I guess we'd better get started cleaning it up."

"I think that would be very wise," Kimiko agreed, already heading for the storage room to fetch a broom.

"You're not gonna tell them I did this?" Kanazuchi asked nervously.

"What," Chameleon sniffed, "You think little elves are gonna come along and take the blame for it? Who do you think did this, you violent Tomboy?"

"Watch your mouth," Kanazuchi glared, "This is really your fault you know."

"My fault?" Chameleon gasped, "How do you figure that?"

"If you hadn't been running away from me I wouldn't have had to break the door down to find you!" Kanazuchi reasoned.

"Enough, you two," Okami sighed, "We can use a hand rebuilding the front door. 'Zuchi, you know where the hammer and nails are. The plywood's out back, I'll come along and make sure you fit the frame right."

"Are you saying I can't be trusted to build a front door on my own?" Kanazuchi flared.

"Oh sure," Chameleon sniffed, "Just not one that can be opened-OW! Watch the hair!"

"You're coming with me, Smarty-pants," Kanazuchi told her cross-dressing cousin, "I'm not letting you out of my sight until this is over. If you're so good with woodwork you can assist me, okay?"

"Okay, okay! I got the point!" Chameleon pleaded as the taller girl let go of her hair, "Sheesh! You can be so Un-Cute when you're irritated..."

"What was that you called me?" Kanazuchi growled.

"Ulp-nothing," Chameleon winced, giving Kimiko a last fleeting glance before sighed in resignation and trudging after her black haired cousin.

"Those two are such good friends," Kimiko smiled, "I wonder if they're ever going to admit to their true feelings?"

"I sure hope so, for all of our sakes," Okami grunted, "It's about the only way we're ever going to get any peace and quiet in this province..."

5.

Continuum #472193567

"Home at last!" said Rinse with a sigh as she gazed upon the gates of her ancestral household, "I was beginning to think we'd never see the place again with all that bouncing about in different dimensions."

"I'm with you there," Tachi agreed, "Be it ever so humble, I never thought I'd miss those patchwork gates and crumbling walls so much in my life. Now all we have to do is go in there and explain things to our parents."

"I sure hope mother doesn't get all emotional about our return," said Yinra, "You know how she can fuss whenever we're late back from the mall, just imagine what our vanishing like that must have done to her and the other adults."

"Not just that," Yangra said, "We never did find out what they were calling the big meeting about. What do you think they've been saying while we've been gone?"

"Probably plotting to engage some of us behind our backs," smiled Ivory with a sly look in Ryoukio's direction.

"Huh?" Ryoukio winced, turning a very nervous expression in Ivory's direction, "They wouldn't do that...would they?"

Brand could not help giving Tachi an uncertain glance, which same she uneasily returned before both of them resolutely looked in opposite directions.

"Well," Belldandy said pleasantly, "There's nothing to be helped by standing around out here, is there?"

"You're right about that, Cousin," Rinse sighed as she pushed against the gates, "Time to go inside and face the music..."

6.

Continuum #37944326

"So," Soon-Li remarked after hearing the full report, "You are satisfied that this matter has been successfully resolved?"

"We are, Matriarch," Storm nodded in reply, "Just as we were returned to our own timeline, it seems more than likely that the others were as well. On the whole it was an interesting experience, but I'm just the same glad that it is finally over."

"Oh, I don't know," Lightning sniffed, "I could have enjoyed visiting a few more worlds to find out how things turned out there. It was neat meeting so many people who were just like us. I wish we could do it again sometime..."

"That might not be practical," Towel said, "The next time we may not have someone on hand who understands how to get us back. A good thing that last timeline had its own Lore Master."

"Me," Nabiki sniffed, "Well, I suppose it was inevitable that I'd study the arts on more than one timeline..."

"You just have a knack for it," Perfume smiled as she rested her chin on her wife's shoulder, earning a return smile from the nominally aloof Tendo sister.

"I wonder, is it really over?" Godai asked.

"Huh?" Ryonami looked at her older brother, "What do you mean by that?"

"It's just that I have the oddest feeling," Godai frowned, "Like we're fated to meet again, or something like that..."

"I have that feeling myself sometimes," Incense countered, "It's called indigestion..."

7.

Continuum #30197682

There had been some fussing about when Spring had made her return, but with diligent efforts she was able to calm her parents down before explaining her story before both them and her Great Great Grandmother. She told them about the other universes with different histories filled with children who claimed to be her parallel brothers and sisters, then she calmly waited for their skepticism to set in. When it did not she ventured to ask, "So...you believe me?"

"Of course we do, child," Cologne had said gravely, her tired, worn frame shifting uncomfortably upon the bed that she seldom strayed far from these days, "You would hardly make up such an unlikely story. How curious that so many of the worlds you visited contained different versions of yourself, mostly children of Shampoo and your father."

"Why is that, Great Grandmother?" Shampoo asked, "I find it hard to believe that I would choose some of the husbands who fathered these children, but to have Ranma marry Ukyo or Akane..."

"Yeah, but Kodachi?" Ranma winced, "That's pushing it even for me!"

Spring then looked towards her parents and said, "Why have you never told me about these people, the Tendos? I had no idea that you led such an active life when you were my age, Father."

Ranma exchanged one of those hesitant looks with Shampoo that they sometimes used when trying to figure out how to explain something difficult, then he sighed, "There's just some things I'm not too proud about the old days, Kitten. I parted ways with the Tendos under...pretty unpleasant conditions, and I've never been able to make peace there, so..."

"What your father is trying to say in his usual tactless manner is that he feels sorry for breaking off his engagement to Tendo Akane," Cologne favored Ranma with an indulgent smile, "Forgive me, Son-in-law, but if we left this up to you it would take longer to explain than I feel up to at the moment."

"Sure," Ranma sniffed, "Leave me to tell the hard parts."

"Your father loved another woman very much in those days," Shampoo began with a hint of regret and unhappiness in her voice, "But it was not fated to be, and he decided to marry me instead..."

"Hey, I don't regret nothing, you got that?" Ranma hastily assured her, "Akane and me...we just struck the wrong kind of sparks together. Too much alike, I suppose, with all the same bad traits. I chose your mother because she's the woman I thought I could make a life with...your Aunt Ukyo was a close second there, but I'm glad things worked out for the better..."

"Be sure you tell her that," Shampoo eyed him crossly, "The way you treated her back then she might as well have been the one cursed to turn into a boy!"

"Hey, I didn't hear you complaining about that," Ranma shot back, "You used to hate her guts in those days. It's only since she got married that the two of you were able to bury the hatchet..."

"Only because we decided it wasn't worth burying it in your thick skull," Shampoo had retorted, and this led to another one of their periodic arguments that led to one of their periodic sparring matches, which always ended up with the two of them rolling around like cats in heat. Spring had just rolled her eyes and shared a look with her great-great grandmother. Sometimes it seemed as if her parents were never going to grow up and act like adults were supposed to...

That was a week ago, of course, or so Spring reflected as she prepared to face her next foe on the Challenge Log. Her big debut as a full-fledged warrior had been going a little too predictable with foe after foe going down before her assaults. Spring had deliberately chosen not to use weapons for the Tourney as a means of handicapping herself to make these fights more of a challenge, but it was starting to look as if she need not have bothered. Even her best friend, Kuonji Noriko, had barely lasted two minutes, leaving only the powerful warrior Rol Lar to give her any sort of challenge.

It was disappointing after having sparred against the likes of Ranko and Watazashi, but then again they had been her Paratime sisters and thus shared the heritage of their father, who was acknowledged as the greatest warrior of his generation. Compared to Rinse, or Storm, or even that Hibiki Godai the crop of warriors she faced were barely even in her weight class. If only she could face an opponent of that mettle once again, if only for a moment...

"Hey," Noriko called up to her from where she had come to give Spring her encouragement, "Earth to Spring, do you read me? Check out that boy hunk who just showed up. Pretty cute for an outsider male, eh?"

"Hmm?" Spring asked, then almost fell off the log as she started in disbelief. What was he doing there? And...was he eating food from the Prize Table?

"You there!" one of the senior warriors challenged, "Outsider male! How dare you eat the prize for the champion of this tourney!"

"Huh?" the outsider boy asked as he held up the half-eaten rind that had been part of a melon, "Oh, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to take without asking. I got lost and I found myself here..."

"Who are you, Boy?" the warrior in question flared at the outsider male's casual response, but before she could take another step forward Spring vaulted down beside her.

"Who are you?" she asked, though she already perfectly well knew what his response would be.

"Me?" he gulped as he looked upon her without clear recognition, his eyes going up and down before he swallowed, then answered, "Um...Hibiki...Hibiki Godai..."

Spring smiled like a predator. This was almost too easy. Provided the boy was as good a fighter as his Paratime counterpart had been (and if not she was prepared to make allowances) it was looking as if the day would not be a total loss after all. Coaching her tone to sound menacing she purred, "You have violated on the rules of this contest, and I demand the satisfaction of a challenge! As the likely victor of this Tournament you have insulted me by eating my feast..."

"Hey!" Roller called out in protest as she, too, vaulted off the challenge log, "You haven't defeated me yet! I should be the one to-!"

WHAM!

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Noriko pretended to sound contrite as she replaced her Bakers Peel across her back while Roller's eyes crossed together and she pitched forward into the dirt, "That was very clumsy of me, Roll-chan. How will you ever be able to forgive me for such carelessness? We'll just have to think of something, won't we?"

Spring smiled to herself while continuing to contemplate the befuddled Japanese boy in front of her. Good friends like Noriko were so hard to find these days...

8.

Continuum #29457180

"Home sweet home at last."

Watazashi smiled at her chosen life partner and said, "It has been quite an adventure, hasn't it? But it is good to be back home, no worse for wear, even if the pool does need to be refilled by a few thousand gallons."

"Really?" Takane glanced across the Kuno ancestral estate at the pool in question then sniffed, "You can barely notice the difference. Too bad it couldn't have been that fetid pond where you keep those infernal prehistoric pets of yours, Cousin. That one we ran into a while back strongly reminded me of Mister Green Turtle."

"Really?" Razor asked, then shrugged, "I guess maybe there is a passing resemblance..."

"Hmph," Watazashi sniffed, "Are you blaming me because you could never keep a pet of your own, Cousin..."

"Only because your pets kept eating mine," Takane glared, then hastily looked away when Watazashi frowned in his direction.

"Speaking of wild, predatory beasts," Watazashi cooed as she turned her attention back towards her companion, "I noticed quite a few were looking you over in a way I found most unpleasant."

"Are you saying you never looked yourself?" Yuan-Yen pleasantly responded, assuming a remarkably demure and cute pose that she hoped would be sufficiently distracting.

Watazashi's eyes roved up and down over Yuan's lithe, well-packaged form and said, "I can look without touching, just so long as no one else tries putting their mark on you. Which reminds me," she smiled, and in one quick motion she scooped Yuan up and slung her over her shoulder in a Fireman carry position despite the half-hearted protests of her lush companion, "We need to settle a little matter of propriety, my dear Yuan-chan. Come step into my office and we'll discuss the pertinent details."

Yuan's laughing protests dwindled off as Watazashi carried her into the house, leaving Takane and Razor to watch this typical exchange with their usual bland dismay. Takane shook his head after a moment and murmured, "That girl is totally deranged. I find it hard to believe that she is my cousin."

"But won't it be hard to negotiate business where they're going?" Razor pointed upstairs, then looked enormously puzzled when his best friend facefaulted...

9.

Continuum #24968173

"So that's the deal, Ghoul, take it or leave it."

Cologne returned Ranma's gaze without expression then shifted the focus of her attention back towards Nabiki. The middle Tendo sister was proving an enigma in these negotiations. By now it was plain enough that Ranma had been affected by his encounter with his future self, but the motives behind his self-appointed advisor were far more difficult to unravel. Cologne hated dealing with such an enigma.

"Do I understand you correctly," Cologne began cautiously, "You are now willing to accept Shampoo as your wife, in exchange for which you want my assistance in dealing with Akane?"

"That's the bottom line," Ranma said, "There's something wrong with her that needs fixing, and you Amazons know stuff about how the human mind works and all that. You ought to have some technique that can help her deal with her rage problem. Considering how many hot heads you've got in your tribe it's got to be mandatory."

"It is true that we know many things about the manipulation of the mind and memory," Cologne said, "And it is possible-possible, mind you-that I may know something that could help her, but why exactly do you come to me with this proposal? Surely there are adequate facilities here in Japan..."

"Get real," Ranma sniffed, "The Tendo's don't have a lot of money, and that stuff's expensive. If they give her drugs and put her in counseling she could take years to get better, and Akane might not go for it. You know how she gets whenever anybody says she's got a problem..."

"Indeed," Cologne mused, "And may I ask what put this thought in your mind that I might be the one who could cure her?"

"It was just something my counterpart said that got me to thinking," Ranma replied, "I'm not saying I believe all that stuff about Akane going wacko and trying to murder us and all, but she has always been pretty violent, so what if maybe she's got something in her head that makes her act like that? And then I thought of something else...the Xi Fang Gao."

Shampoo started while Nabiki and Ukyo looked at Ranma in surprise. Cologne's eyes narrowed as she softly murmured, "Go on, Son-in-law...what about it?"

"That memory technique junk you use," Ranma said sourly, "You've been using it for a long time, right? You can make people selectively forget about stuff, like people or things, only Akane managed to throw it off..."

"Indeed," Cologne nodded gravely, "Such strong will is one thing that I have always admired about the girl, even if she lacks many qualities that go into making a true warrior."

"Anybody else ever do that?" Ranma asked.

"I...don't understand you," Cologne hesitated, "Has anyone else besides her ever managed to overcome the Xi Fang Gao? Only a handful within the memory of Amazon legend."

"So," Ranma asked, "Does it have side-effects, other than giving people headaches? Can it, say, make somebody more violent who was prone to violence in the first place?"

Cologne's eyes were wide while Shampoo looked startled. Ranma did not allow them to answer as he plunged on immediately ahead, "Okay, maybe it did and maybe it didn't have something to do with Akane getting worse instead of better. I'm not blaming anybody, but I figure you guys are the ones to come to if there's any way of making Akane better. You think you can do that, old Ghoul, or am I wasting my time by asking?"

Cologne took a few seconds before she replied, "I see...yes, under those circumstances I think perhaps we can do something to help Tendo Akane. There is an Elder back in our village who knows a great many things, our village Lore Master. She would be the one to ask for details of the Xi Fang Gao technique. I will make the proper inquiries and see to it that she researches the matter."

"Good," Ranma said, "You do that then I'll acknowledge Shampoo as my wife..."

Shampoo gasped while Ukyo could no longer restrain herself, "No, Ranchan-you can't-!"

"I can if it's my right," Ranma said, never taking his eyes off of the old woman, "I don't need no formal ceremony or nothing, right? I just agree that she's my wife and that's good enough for Amazon law, right? That'll get you both off the hook with your people..."

"But what about your promise to marry Akane?" Nabiki could not hold herself back any further, "Are you telling us that's dead?"

"I'm not telling nothing like that," Ranma said, "But there's one thing my counterpart said that had a lot of weight with me when he said I didn't know anything about love. I thought maybe I did when I was gonna propose to her today, but now...I really don't know what love's all about. Maybe I really do need more time to think about it. I'm eighteen years old, there's no rush for me to go off and get married. I'm just finishing High School and I was gonna take over the dojo, but maybe it's time I really thought about my future. Maybe I need to grow up a little before I can settle down and raise a family..."

"But you are marrying Shampoo?" Cologne persisted.

"That's different," Ranma turned to regard the astonished girl beside him, "I owe Shampoo for messing up her life. She wouldn't be in hot water back home if it wasn't for me. I've blamed my Pop often enough, but...well, that's just an excuse to duck responsibility. The plain fact is that Shampoo's gonna go home in disgrace if she doesn't marry me, and there's no way I'm ever gonna let that happen."

"Uh!" Nabiki straightened up, "Would you excuse me. Me and Ranma need to talk a few things out."

She grabbed Ranma by the sleeve of his silk shirt and all but dragged him off to a far corner of Ukyo's restaurant. Once they had sufficient distance she turned and hissed, "Are you crazy? You can't just marry Shampoo because of guilt over what's past!"

"Why not?" Ranma asked the brown haired Tendo sister, "Aren't you the one who's always telling me I should face up to stuff I've done and stop running away like my old man?"

"But this is crazy!" Nabiki protested, "You don't owe Shampoo your whole life! I thought you loved Akane..."

"So what if I do?" Ranma looked at her flatly, "If that love ain't enough to save her, then what good am I? At least with the Amazons she's got a chance of learning how to smile again. You think that ain't worth marrying Shampoo for?"

"I don't believe you, Saotome," Nabiki shook her head, "I thought you at least had a sense of honor, but now you're telling me you're after that Bimbo for her body?"

"She's not a Bimbo!" Ranma declared, then more calmly he added, "People are always judging her because of the way she talks, but I know her better than that..."

"The way the talks, the way she acts, her violent streak, the fact that she's often threatened to kill Akane for being an obstacle," Nabiki ticked her reasons off with her fingers.

"And when's she ever done it?" Ranma asked, "C'mon, Nabiki, you know perfectly well that Akane wouldn't last a minute against Shampoo if she fought all out. Akane's good, but she ain't that good, and if Shampoo really meant it she could have killed Akane that first time instead of take her memories away."

"So she only talks the talk but doesn't do the walk right?" Nabiki countered.

"Why do you care?" Ranma narrowed his eyes, "I know she's your sister, but it ain't like it's you that I wanna marry."

Nabiki did not reply to that, so Ranma resumed talking, "Look, trust me on this, I ain't gonna sell out just because I'm doing what's best for everybody. I trust Shampoo enough that I know she'll even help Akane get through whatever's been making her unhappy. Things can't go on like they've been going, you know that as well as me. It ain't fair and it ain't right, but life isn't particularly fair to me, so what else am I gonna do about it? Bottom line: I won't hurt Shampoo, and I won't abandon Akane."

"So you'll hurt me, is that it?" he heard Ukyo ask from directly behind himself.

Ranma sighed, steeling himself as he turned around and said, "Ukyo...it was a mistake for my Pop to take your cart and engage us. You're my friend, and I care a lot about you, I...I think I could even like you the way you want me to...maybe a little...but I can't marry you, Shampoo AND Akane. Somebody's gotta lose here, and I don't want it to be you. I want...I want everybody to be happy, but it's just..."

"Sure," Ukyo said, fighting back tears, "Abandon me, you've done it before! Why should you break a habit, it's practically a family tradition!"

"Ukyo..." Ranma started to say, but she turned away from him, hiding her tears with great effort, "You deserve to be happy, more than anybody else I know. There's gotta be somebody out there who's just right for you. I-I wish it could be me...I know we could have been...it just..."

"Then why not me?" Ukyo asked, turning back to look at him with tears now falling from her eyes, "Why do I have to be the one you say no to? What have I ever done to deserve this? I gave up twelve years of my life because of you! I gave up my WOMANHOOD! You..."

"Hit me," Ranma said.

"W-What?" Ukyo gasped.

"I said go ahead and hit me," Ranma replied, "I deserve it for making you cry. It's what Akane would do, and I know you want to hit me too. Go on, get it out of your system."

"I-I...Ranchan..." Ukyo began to sob, then in one quick motion she grabbed her Bakers Peel and slammed it against him, knocking Ranma across the room and into the far wall, spilling chairs and tables in his passing.

"Ranma!" Shampoo started to leap forward when Cologne's staff blocked her pass.

"No, Shampoo," Cologne said, "This is for Son-In-Law to settle for himself. Don't interfere until it's over."

"R-Ranchan?" Ukyo gasped, and then she fell to her knees as the sound of her Baker's Peel hitting the floor was punctuated by her sobbing.

"Ranma..." Nabiki gasped, only halting herself with the greatest of efforts.

"Gah...!" Ranma said as he pried himself off of the wall, looking more stunned than injured, "That...definitely was not one of my better ideas..."

"So," Cologne said into the ensuing silence, "You have decided on Shampoo after all, I take it?"

"Not so fast," Ranma said as he shook off the effects of being slammed around like a hockey puck, "I said I'd marry Shampoo, and that's as much to protect her as it is because I think she'd make a good wife and all that, but there's something else I want you to do."

"Name it," Cologne said without a hint of emotion.

"I want Ukyo to come with us," Ranma said equally flatly.

"W-what?" Ukyo looked up from her tears, now totally bewildered.

"I want you to declare Ucchan an honorary Amazon and let her have the rights and privileges that go with it," Ranma continued, "Adopt her into your family or clan, or something and let her have exclusive commercial rights to open an Okonomiyaki stand in your village."

"Interesting," Cologne replied, "And why would you do this?"

"Because I don't abandon my friends," Ranma said firmly, "And I owe Ukyo something for all the stuff I've put her through. I figure with exclusive rights to trade in China she'll make a lot of money and have more business than she would if she stayed here. Of course that's if you wanna do it, Ucchan. I ain't telling you to do it or nothing, it's just something I thought you might want. You're always talking about expanding your business."

"I can see how a financial compensation may make up for Miss Kuonji's loss," Cologne remarked, "But why do you wish me to adopt her into my family?"

"Because I know you Amazons," Ranma glared, "And sooner or later one of your people's bound to pick a fight with Ucchan on account of her being an outsider. If they wind up giving her the Kiss of death, then I'm gonna be very upset about that."

"Very shrewd," Cologne replied, "The outsider rule does not apply between Amazons. If one chooses to fight another it need not wind up with a death threat by the loser. But what if I decline to agree to your new proposal? Will that end all chances for you to marry Shampoo?"

"No," Ranma said, "But if you don't agree then I'm not going back to your village. Shampoo becomes my wife and we go out on the road together. Nobody comes after us or they get hurt, and you won't hear from us again for years, if ever. If we ever want to come back, it'll be our decision, but you won't have any part in what we do or if we decide to have children."

Shampoo gasped, as did Nabiki (though more softly) while Ukyo just stared blank-  
eyed in astonishment. It was Cologne who broke the silence by asking, "Children?"

"Hey, come on!" Ranma glanced at all of them in annoyance, "What did we just see today, huh? You think those kids just came into being by themselves? I don't understand everything that happened, but you gotta know that at least some of those kids had Shampoo and me for parents. If it's possible it's doable, and if I'm gonna have kids with anybody you damned well better believe that I'm gonna have a say in how and where they get raised!"

"Some of those kids didn't just have Shampoo for a mother," Nabiki pointed out, then belatedly reacted to her own statement, recalling the ones who had claimed HER for a mother!

"Yeah, I know," Ranma sniffed, giving Ukyo a look that made Shampoo frown in displeasure, "Nice to know I've got a choice about that, even if the one that had Kodachi as a mother..." he shivered as if contemplating a nightmare.

"So let me see if I understand this," Cologne said in a thoughtful tone of voice, "You agree to marry Shampoo on the condition that we take Akane in for healing and that Miss Kuonji may open a franchise, or else you will take Shampoo away and go into virtual seclusion. If one did not know better it might seem as if you will have Shampoo anyway, or is your intention more complex than that? You also suggest that you would prefer to delay your marriage until you are older..."

"That's it exactly," Ranma said, "I'll do right by Shampoo any way I can, but that don't mean I gotta give in all the way. I don't have to become a father until I'm good and ready, and just because Shampoo will be my wife doesn't mean I gotta act like a husband. It's gonna all depend on if we can work things out between us. This is all happening so fast, I don't even know if I'm making the right decision. I can't just leap into a marriage unless I'm sure it's right for me and Shampoo, otherwise I might wind up resenting her forever..."

"That's right," Nabiki suddenly found her voice, "A matter this complicated can't be jumped into just on the basis of impulse. Ranma's doing this to save Shampoo's reputation, maybe even her life. You can't hold him to a lifetime agreement to become her husband until they both know that this is what's best for Shampoo."

"What you say?" Shampoo asked, "Marry Ranma all Shampoo ever want!"

"And if he winds up hating you because it turns out to be the wrong decision?" Nabiki asked, forcing Shampoo to meet her gaze until the Purple haired girl looked away, tacitly conceding the point, "If Ranma can't marry Akane on the basis of love, then do you honestly think your love will be enough to convince him that you're the one he should marry? There's a lot more to marriage than a tradition or those Amazon laws you two are always touting. You talk about Ranma having no respect for your traditions? Well, when did you ever show respect for us and our customs of marriage? I personally don't think Ranma ought to marry you just because you got yourself in trouble pursuing that Kiss of Death, but since it's Ranma's decision to make, and since he feels obligated to stand up for you..."

"Very well," Cologne replied, "I will agree to all your terms, Son-in-law, in exchange for your pledge to honor Shampoo as your wife. I will see to it that Akane is well cared for to the best of our abilities, and that Kuonji-san has the option of accepting honorary membership in our tribe, as well as the right to conduct whatever business she decides is in her best interests."

Ranma turned to Ukyo and said, "What about it, Ucchan? Is this what you want? I'll understand if you wind up hating my guts or think I'm trying to buy you off or anything like that..."

Ukyo seemed to be doing some rapid mental calculations, and then she got to her feet and said, "You don't want to rush into a decision? Does that mean you might not marry Shampoo after all?"

"Oh, I'll marry her," Ranma said, "But I'll decide what comes after that. If Shampoo's willing to wait for me, then maybe I'll come to like her the way she wants me to, but if it doesn't work out...then it's only a marriage by Amazon law. I won't marry her under Japanese law until I'm sure it's what we both want."

"Right," Nabiki said, "Meanwhile you keep your options open so that you might wind up marrying Akane after all..."

"Or Ucchan," Ranma's eyes rested upon Ukyo as he added, "I ain't sayin' I'll never marry her neither. In fact, I could turn out to want her more than either Shampoo or Akane. Personally I think you should find somebody else who can make you happy, but if you're willing to wait..."

"If?" Ukyo snorted, "If twelve years doesn't prove that I can wait as long as anybody, especially Shampoo, I don't know what does!"

"Hmph," Shampoo sniffed, but it seemed as if the familiar resentful glare she gave Ukyo was welcome in turn like familiar territory to both women.

Nabiki turned to Ranma and said, "You came up with all of this by yourself? I'm impressed, Saotome."

"So you thought I was a total idiot?" Ranma smiled at her with a flash of his old ego, "I've had a lot more time to think about it than you'd believe. That Tardis thingie of the Doctor's doesn't cut a straight line from one place to the other, you know. Shampoo and me had some adventures before we got back, and that's when I decided I was gonna do right by her, one way or the other."

There was a speculative look in Nabiki's eyes, then she softly said, "There's only one problem with your plan, Ranma...how do we convince Akane?"

"We don't," Ranma snorted, "I tell her there's something wrong with her or that she needs help she'll just come after me and call me a pervert. Naw, we gotta use subtlety here...we just tell her I'm going to China to straighten things out with Shampoo's people and she'll naturally want to come along and butt into things, like always."

Nabiki turned to Ukyo and said, "Any chance you'll need a business partner?"

"Why do you ask, Sugar?" Ukyo asked.

"Because I'm coming along too," Nabiki replied with a snort, "Somebody with brains needs to keep an eye on you people, and Akane's my sister. Besides, with me along you won't have to worry about Daddy."

"Oh yeah," Ranma turned to Cologne and said, "That's the other thing I want to ask...any way you can keep my parents and Mister Tendo from following us to China?"

Cologne's eyes tinkled with amusement as she said, "I think I can come up with something that should dissuade them from trying to follow. After all, we don't need to have them interfering in your decisions, Son-in-law."

"Thanks," Ranma turned and said, "What about it, Shampoo? You still want me under these circumstances? I ain't trying to make your mind up for you, but if you still want to marry me..."

"Japanese always ask too many questions," Shampoo sniffed, folding her arms and looking as proud as she was happy, "If no part of question, unless you mean rhet-reta...Great Grandmother, what word for meaningless question?"

"Rhetorical, child," Cologne allowed herself to smile, "That's what I've always liked about you, Son-in-law...you never cease providing an old woman a source of infinite surprises..."

10.

Continuum #31279648

"From a distance I can see, the picture is so clear to me,  
This vantage point where few can hope to find;  
And patience is to keep a love that's only guaranteed Destinied to make it through the night...  
Through the years and through the pain This house was built to stand the strain Though harder times I surely can't recall...  
And crazy though it seems, though all we had were crazy dreams Those hungry years, I miss them most of all...

"Now at last we've come together, we've been through it all Together-Ohhh-I've never stopped loving you!  
When the money was short and dreams were shattered,  
we lived through it all Together-Ohhh-I've never stopped loving you!

"We stumbled on the way, so many nights were led astray,  
At different times we've both played separate fools...  
We overcame our pride and made it to the other side,  
Every highway led me back to you...  
Through the years and through the pain This house was built to stand the strain,  
Though harder times I surely can't recall...

"Now at last we've come together, we've been through it all Together-Ohhh-I've never stopped loving you!  
When the money was short and dreams were shattered, we lived through it all Together-Ohhh-I've never stopped loving you!

"From a distance I can see...the picture seems so clear to me,  
This vantage point that only love can find..."

Nabiki clapped her hands as Ranma took his bow upon the Karaoke stage, but when he offered her the portable handheld microphone she tried to decline him. He insisted but she only smiled until he finally thrust the microphone into her hand then sat back and nodded towards the stage. She gave him a withering smile, but finally relented, getting up and taking his place, then went immediately into her number.

"Sometimes late at night I lay and wonder...  
is breaking up the only thing to do?  
Go our separate lives like perfect strangers...  
in the end only perfect fools?  
But maybe tonight I'll stop and wonder,  
Maybe tonight we'll ease the pain!  
Somehow I'll make your heart remember...  
It doesn't have to be this way!  
We don't have to live the lie anymore-  
I want you back, I'm holding on!  
It doesn't have to be this way!  
It doesn't have to be this way!

"When breaking up becomes this empty feeling,  
the child within me lost without a friend...  
So you go a little while searching for some meaning In the blackness of your deep despair...  
But maybe tonight I'll stop and wonder,  
Maybe tonight we'll ease the pain!  
Somehow I'll make your heart remember...  
It doesn't have to be this way..."

Ranma listened to his iinazuke's song, committing each tone and note to memory as he admired her command of the stage, the way she made the old American rock-  
and-roll song intensely personal and dynamic. She had an excellent voice and she moved to the sway of the music as if she were a professional entertainer.

Naturally she had to take notice of his pleasure in her singing, so she dragged him up onto the stage for a duet number:

"Get on my feet, got a deadline to meet,  
With all this pain-can't concentrate!  
This heart of mine won't leave you behind But follows me with memories!  
It's only now I can turn back the pages,  
I've made mistakes that I've lived to regret!  
I only wish I had gone through those stages Years before we met!

"Baby-this time I ready for the real thing!  
Last time-I couldn't be true!  
But this time-I'm ready for the real thing too!

"Turn out the light, I've been tossing all night,  
I try to read but it's love that I need!  
In my mind the sound of desire Keeps calling me my heart to heed!  
It's only now when I turn back the pages,  
I've said some things that I've lived to regret!  
I only wish I had gone through these changes Years before we met!

But baby-This time I'm ready for the real thing!  
Last time-I couldn't be true!  
This time-I'm ready for the real thing 'Cause this time baby-I'm ready for you!

He allowed himself to be entranced by the rapture of their singing together and was genuinely sorry when they finished, sitting down at their table with a great sigh before Nabiki handed the microphone over to someone else.

"Not bad," he informed her, "We could make a lot of money doing that if you wanted."

"Why Mister Saotome," Nabiki purred, "Was that an actual compliment you just paid me? You'll turn my head at this rate."

"Yeah, right," Ranma sniffed, "But maybe we ought to consider it. After all, we may both be out of a job as soon as word hits headquarters about what we tried to do in the past."

"Not a problem," Nabiki said with a mysterious glint in her eyes, "I made sure I covered my bases before I left headquarters. As far as our superiors know we just averted a major temporal calamity involving eleven separate alternate timelines, which makes us officially heroes back home. The fact that we inadvertently interfered in the lives of our past duplicates was an unavoidable complication."

Ranma could not help chuckling at her clever description, "That's my Nabiki, always three steps ahead of the law."

Nabiki seemed enormously pleased by his inclusion of the personal possessive pronoun, but aloud what she said was, "The day I don't plan everything in advance is the day to worry, Saotome. Unlike some people I prefer to learn from my mistakes before I make new ones."

"Ouch," he smiled, "Was that a reprimand? I thought I was supposed to be a hero?"

"You're my hero until further notice," Nabiki touched him on the nose with an index finger, "Just don't go off on any more hair-brained solo stunts like that, you got it? If you put me through this again the results will be most unpleasant."

"Yes Ma'am," Ranma said in mock-obsequiousness, "Just one question, though...why'd you block the shot I took at my old man? I didn't think you liked him any more than I did."

"I don't," Nabiki replied, "But I couldn't just let you commit Patricide, even if he does deserve it."

"Who said anything about Patricide?" Ranma asked, then paused before adding, "What's Patricide? Just kidding!" he threw up his hands to ward off the mock-  
punch she threw him, "Seriously, I wasn't really planning to kill him. Well...it would have hurt him a lot, but I know how to pull my punches."

"Thank Kami-sama for small favors," Nabiki winced, "That still hurt like the blazes! You owe me big time for that, Mister Saotome."

"Then I'll have to think up a way of making it up to you," Ranma leaned closer until their noses were almost touching, "Got any ideas on that?"

"Just one," Nabiki asked him, "Do you believe in Premarital sex or would you prefer to save it for the honeymoon?"

"Nani?" Ranma blinked, his expression suddenly one of panic.

"Gotcha!" Nabiki grinned, "You owe me, remember? So I intend to collect in my own time in my own way. We've both been waiting for this a long time, Ranma-  
kun, and I think it's about bloody time we got serious about teaching you about this little thing called the Kama Sutra..."

"Urk," Ranma glanced away and murmured, "I'm a dead man..."

"I beg your pardon?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh, nothing," Ranma smiled innocently, then his expression grew serious again, "Nabiki...I was just thinking something a while ago. I mean...about those kids we ran into..."

"Oh?" Nabiki asked hesitantly.

"Well...you know," Ranma shrugged, "A lot of them claimed to be from me on timelines where things worked out a whole lot better. So many timelines..." he shook his head, "Just a drop in the bucket, right? Only...well...thinking back, I count about eleven of them who claimed Shampoo was their mother (not all by me of course), maybe ten for Akane, about eight with Ukyo, six with you, five with Kasumi..."

"And one by Kodachi," Nabiki finished for him, then saw him wince, "That is...one who claims that you are her father. I made about seventeen kids who can claim you for their paternity, out of possibly forty-seven in all. That's quite a few kids, almost two per timeline."

"More than I got now," Ranma sniffed, "But the one I kind of feel sorry for was that Ranko kid. Looks like there's one timeline where Akane and me got lucky...only she looked real sad, like maybe she'd never seen so many other kids like her before..."

"Very perceptive," Nabiki replied, "I did a little background search a while ago on the timeline she came from and the archives at headquarters informed me that she's an orphan, lost both of her parents at a very early age. Turns out to be a timeline that closely parallels our own..."

"It does?" Ranma blinked, then said, "You mean...?"

Nabiki reluctantly nodded, "Yeah, Akane had the problem there, too, only her case was made worse by pregnancy. Her first one was difficult, but she had a healthy daughter, but the stress of being a live-at-home mother proved too much for her sanity. Not that I blame her, of course...four O'clock feedings could drive anyone into the nuthouse..."

"What happened?" Ranma asked simply.

Nabiki looked down, then she said, "It was deep into her second pregnancy that she snapped. She was having a minor argument with your counterpart while the two were doing the dishes, and naturally the insults started flying. Akane's normal imbalance of aggressors in her nervous system were compounded by the confusion of pregnancy, and in that chemical swirl of self-induced psychosis she snapped and attacked that timeline's Ranma with a butcher knife..."

"Kuso..." Ranma breathed softly.

"It was so unexpected that the you from there let her penetrate his guard, and before he knew it she was stabbing him in the chest. He tried too late to fight her off but he was gushing from about a dozen wounds at that point while Akane did not even know what she was doing. The commotion drew my counterpart and Kasumi into the room and when we saw the blood flow...well, Kasumi screamed and I just stood there stupidly as Akane whirled on me and saw not her two older sisters but a pair of enemies trying to stop her from knifing Ranma. I went down pretty quick on the timeline-no surprise there-but when she stabbed Kasumi that was the point where it finally penetrated the red haze around Akane just what she was doing. She came out of her blind berserker rage and tried to bandage our wounds, to get help, but Daddy just walked in on the scene and stood there in a kind of numb horror while we bled to death on the floor of his kitchen. The paramedics weren't called in until after Akane tried to slash her own wrists and...well...Ranko saw the whole thing. It's in her memories, buried deep. Doctor Tofu used the Xi Fang Gao to help her out or she might have grown up catatonic..."

"I wish I'd never asked," Ranma shook his head in numb horror.

"Akane lived long enough to give birth to her second daughter,"" Nabiki resumed in a numb monotone, "Meiko...and then one day her attendants got careless and weren't looking when they should have and Akane...finished what she started. After that Ranko was raised by her grandfather with help from your mother...your father having passed away under mysterious circumstances. It seems that Happosai took pity on the kid and started training her from an early age, violating his own policy about having a girl become his heir since she was the only one left out of all of us. Meiko was put into an orphanage and wound up being adopted by a different family. Ranko's only other contact growing up was a rehabilitated Kodachi, who all but became her unofficial Aunt and tried to provide some much-needed human contact..."

"Kodachi helped raise my daughter?" Ranma asked slowly, his expression one of numb exhaustion.

"Don't be too hard on her," Nabiki said, "Remember Kodachi lost her own mother when she was very young under similar circumstances. I think she wanted to help Ranko avoid turning out the same way she did. By all accounts they've been pretty good for each other, and as you can see Ranko turned out to be a first-  
rate martial artist, just like her parents would have wanted."

"I always wanted a daughter of mine to have more from me than just Martial Arts," Ranma sighed, "Poor kid...wish there was something I could do for her, but seeing me would probably just remind her of what's better left forgotten."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Nabiki said, "It wasn't like your counterpart was any more culpable than you are."

"Maybe so," Ranma said, then he paused a moment before adding, "Nabiki? Did we do the right thing trying to prevent that past version of me from marrying his Akane? I mean...it's pretty obvious that not every time that was done turned out as bad as that one."

"I ran tests on that version of Akane," Nabiki said, "She definitely had the same neural patterns that ours did, meaning an undetected low-laying condition will slowly eat away at her from inside and produce results much like what we saw in our Akane. We did the right thing, Saotome, now it's up to your other self to take the ball and run with it."

"I guess that just leaves one more question," Ranma said, "With all the possible combinations we saw represented back there, why wasn't there one that came from the both of us?"

"I have a theory about that," Nabiki replied, "The pendant is obviously intelligent, so it was commanded by Hibiki Akira to search out for his grandparents, the you and Shampoo of the past, but the pendant had other ideas and began trolling the alternate universes looking for combinations that strongly favored either you or Shampoo and..."

She froze when she saw his expression, realizing belatedly that he had meant something else by his question, "Oh...that."

"Yeah, that," Ranma sniffed, "And you call me slow on the uptake..."

"Ah...well," Nabiki said sheepishly, "I guess maybe we'll just have to create our own timeline for ourselves, won't we?"

"I guess so," Ranma said, leaning forward, "Want to start exploring?"

That was when her watch started beeping her. Nabiki hastily touched the dial and said, "Tendo, go ahead."

"About time I got ahold of you."

Both Ranma and Nabiki swiveled their gaze to the watch and said in chorus, "Derrick?"

"Ah, you remember," came the sarcastic reply on the other end, "Just what are you two troubleshooters doing in the past anyway? I've got readings on all of my dials telling me that a massive event just took place between a dozen separate timelines..."

"Old news, Sir," Nabiki hastily said, "We took care of the problem and now have the device used to implement it in our possession."

"You're sure of that?" Derrick asked, "I'm still getting temporal fluctuations all over the block."

"I'm positive, sir," Nabiki reached down and pulled up the locket to view, "I confiscated the amulet responsible for the transferals and have it right here..."

Before she could finish talking the chain and pendant faded out and became as nothing. Nabiki stared at her now-empty hand in dismay while Ranma swore and oath and said, "What happened? Where did it go?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Derrick said coldly, "I do trust you two will be on it and provide me with a few answers."

"Uh...sure," Nabiki replied, "No problem."

"Good," Derrick said, "I expect to hear back from you after you've found it."

The two time agents exchanged looks, then Ranma said, "How did it get away from you? I thought you had it under your control."

"So did I," Nabiki examined her hand then frowned, "Unless what I had was actually a Temporal Shadow...the after image projected forward by the pendant to make it seem as if I had the real one...and it just now ran out, which means that the stupid thing outfoxed me!"

"Outsmarted by a piece of costume jewelry, huh?" Ranma sniffed, "What a comedown. Only where do you suppose the stupid thing wound up?"

"It obviously found what it was looking for when it called all those children together in one place," Nabiki said thoughtfully, "All along it had it's own hidden agenda of finding a person who it could bond with to provide it with the mobility that it normally lacks."

"So who wound up with it?" Ranma asked when he and Nabiki looked at each other and said the same name at the same time, "Ranko!"

"It makes perfect sense!" Nabiki said, "Of all the kids she's the one with the fewest ties to her own timeline, and the one with the greatest interest in visiting other timelines. From the perspective of the jewel she's almost perfect!"

"Which means she's still out there somewhere," Ranma said resolutely, "We've gotta find her, Nabiki. She's my kid, after a fashion, the daughter I never had a chance to know..."

"I thought we were discussing having children of our own," Nabiki smiled, "It just so happens that I have some frozen eggs that I've been saving for a special occasion. You know how it is when you start to hear the ol' biological clock start ticking. All I need is a willing sperm donor...any suggestions?"

"I could think of a few," Ranma returned her smile, "But for your sake you'd better be thinking of me first. I wouldn't like it if the kid turns out to look like Ryoga."

"Why, Saotome-kun," Nabiki mused, "You sound positively possessive. But we can discuss this at another time. For now, let's go find my wayward Niece."

"Yes," Ranma took her hand in his own, "Partners?"

"Partners," Nabiki smiled as they leaned forward to kiss, then vanished from the Karaoke bar, leaving behind a bit tip for the waiter...

11.

Continuum #29715382

Ranko announced herself as she entered the House, "Tadaima! Anybody home?"

There was silence for a minute, then Nodoka appeared from the hallway and said, "Ranko-chan, thank the Kami you're all right! Your grandfather and I were so worried."

"I'm sorry, Obaasan," Ranko bowed, "I was with some friends and I...kind of lost track of the time. Is grandfather feeling well?"

"As well as can be expected," Nodoka replied, "He's sleeping in his room since I put his medicine in his tea. He'll be glad to see you when he wakes up. So...how was your trip? You vanished rather abruptly."

"Uh...it was...fun, I guess," Ranko hesitated, "Anyway, I'm back now, so I heading up to my room. How soon will dinner be ready?"

"Another hour," Nodoka replied pleasantly, "Go on and freshen up, I'll call you down when dinner is ready."

"Domo," Ranko said, then raced up the stairs to bolt down the hallway until she came before her room, which was said to be the room of her mother when she was a little girl. Once inside Ranko threw herself down onto her bed and finally allowed her exhaustion to show where there was no one about to see her moment of weakness. She was beat thoroughly and wanted to sleep for a week, but she had to rouse herself to eat dinner in a little bit, so for the moment she contented herself by letting her mind wander, and naturally it came back to the subject of those children she had met in her travels.

She had always been an only child and had felt the loneliness that came with sharing a house with two people who were so much older than herself. She had always tried to be a good girl, but there were times that it was so hard just getting by, and with so few of her contemporaries who really seemed to understand her...

She sighed as she rolled over onto her back. Those other kids had been...strange in a lot of ways, yet there was something neat about them as well. Those girls with the purple hair had been interesting fighters, and all the other ones said in some way or other to be the offspring of various people who used to be contemporaries of her father and mother. Most especially interesting had been that Watazashi character, the daughter of the one adult whom Ranko respected. That girl was an enigma, but there was something compelling about her as well, like her beloved Aunt Kodachi, only much, much younger.

"Geez," Ranko sighed as she recalled her meeting with the man said to be her real father, but who had turned out to be a gloomy fellow who seemed to take an interest in the double of her own Aunt Nabiki, "I sure wish I could see some of them again. I almost wish you had turned out to be my real parents..."

That was when Ranko noticed a pulsating sensation on her chest, which prompted her to reach down and pick up the object that she was wearing around her neck by a silver chain. It only took a moment to identify it, and then a huge smile broke out upon her features.

"Neat!" she cried, and suddenly life was chock full of interesting possibilities...

To be Continued?

Comments/Criticisms/Circus of a Thousand Alternate Universes: shadowmane

If you think it ends here you are very much mistaken. What will happen when Ranko decides to go on her own Reality trip? Tune in to a future series that may very well explore that question...be there!

All Songs enclosed were from Survivor-"Caught In The Game," by Scotti Brothers, 1983 Produced by Frank Sullivan, performed by: Jim Jamison, Frankie Sullivan, Jim Peterik, Marc Droubay and Stephan Ellis.

"I never Stopped Loving You," "It doesn't Have to Be This Way," "Ready For The Real Thing."

(I always loved these guys, and I hope you enjoy the appropriateness of the Karaoke.)

X

If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: . or it's mirror site at: ~ All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.


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